Man says neighbor attacked him with weed eater

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Police investigate all types of violent crimes, but rarely do those involve lawn equipment.

Two neighbors had never even met before a few heated words turned into an all-out physical attack.  

Dan Lorek still can't quite believe it.

"Very painful. A lot of Neosporin and Aleve," Lorek said.

He has 74 cuts on his legs, three on his back and three bumps on his head.  By the pictures, you'd think he'd gotten into a fight with a wild animal.

"Now, every time I hear a weed eater, I start to cringe," Lorek said.

Last Friday, while driving his truck, Lorek decided to stop to confront neighbor, Jeffrey Koshen, who was doing yard work.

A few weeks before, he claims Koshen sped down their flooded street, 3rd Avenue North, splashing him, his paperwork, phone and wallet.

"Basically told him, you're not a nice person, in layman's terms, for doing what he did to me. He swore at me and came at my truck with a weed eater," Lorek said. "He's got the whole side beat up, the window scratched up, right where my face was."

Lorek got out of his truck.  That's when he said Koshen swung the weed eater toward his face.

"When I turned to get into the truck, he got me in the back so when I turned around, he got me in the legs, over and over and over and over," Lorek said. "I feared for my life. I got this maniac coming at me with a professional weed eater. What do you do?"

Lorek wrestled Koshen to the ground while, St. Petersburg police say, another neighbor grabbed the weed eater.

Koshen later told officers he knew the weed eater "would hurt him" but that "it wouldn't hospitalize him."

"According to the officer who arrived on scene, the man who was attacked with the weed eater, his legs were bleeding pretty severely," said Rick Shaw, St. Petersburg police public information officer. "Actions and tempers flared and this is the result you have."

Koshen, who lists his employer as Lawn Love, was arrested.

Lorek is just happy it didn't end as badly as it could have.

"To be honest, he doesn't need to be on the street if he's got a temper like that. He doesn't," Lorek said.

According to Koshen's arrest report, police found no indication of mental health issues, drug or alcohol influence.

Koshen is charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief.