Cannibal Corpse’s Pat O’Brien Tasered by Authorities, Brought to Court in an Anti-Suicide Vest and Shackles

December 11th, 2018 at 3:16pm
Axl Rosenberg

Floridian NBC associate WFLA now has further details regarding the case of Cannibal Corpse guitarist Pat O’Brien.

O’Brien, you may recall, was recently arrested and charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. Authorities were reportedly called to O’Brien’s home in Northdale, FL when it “caught fire with exploding ammunition inside.” While firefighters struggled to put out the fire despite the exploding ammunition, O’Brien was elsewhere, allegedly committing a robbery.

WFLA’s latest report, which you can watch below, offers some new information, both regarding O’Brien’s alleged crimes and the status of his legal prosecution.

According to the report, authorities allege that O’Brien entered a nearby family’s home without their permission, and did not comply with their orders to leave. At some point, the guitarist is said to have pushed a woman down and escaped to the backyard. Deputies on the scene say they found O’Brien hiding behind a nearby fence, at which point he allegedly charged them with a knife; they claim they were consequently forced to subdue O’Brien with a taser.

O’Brien appeared before a Hillsborough County judge this morning wearing an anti-suicide vest (a garment which, as its name suggests, is designed to prevent the wearer from hurting himself). Said judge set O’Brien’s bail at $50,000, conditional upon his passing a drug a test.

In the state of Florida, both of the crimes O’Brien is accused of committing are considered first degree felonies. In the case of the aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer charge, the penalty could be a prison term of up to thirty years; the charge of burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault is even more serious, as it carries a penalty of a fine up to $10,000 and a potential lifetime prison sentence.

Cannibal Corpse have not issued a statement at this time. Yesterday, the band was announced as one of the support acts for the next North American leg of Slayer’s farewell tour in spring 2019.