A military recruit is being praised for taking down an ax-wielding suspect using an MMA move. The ax-wielding man allegedly charged the recruit and his brother at a Florida car wash.
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18-year-old Leodan Pino sprung into action to protect his 16-year-old brother. Both worked at the car wash when 36-year-old Bryce Thayer allegedly attacked them with a knife. Leodan, a military recruit, is trained in MMA fighting.
According to officers, the brothers told Thayer to leave the car wash. That's when Thayer allegedly threatened both of them.
"I was locking up all the doors, and I heard some screaming, someone yelling something," Pino told FOX 35 Orlando. "He's obviously not in the right state of mind ... He walks up to the tunnel, and that's when I tell him, 'You have to leave, man. You got to leave.'"
Military Recruit Stops Man
According to Pino, Thayer pulled an ax from his backpack and pointed it at the military recruit. That's when Pino sprung into action while his brother grabbed the ax away.
"Once he lowered, that's when I shot the take-down, and I got on top of him and I controlled the situation," said Pino. "Once I realized he wasn't letting go, that's when I threw a couple elbows until he was incapacitated ... I got him to his back, put him in a body triangle, held a rear naked choke on him and waited until the cops got there."
The brothers called the cops after subduing the ax-wielding man. Mugshots showed Thayer with a heavily bruised face. Police later found a meth pipe on him during their search. They've charged him with two counts of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Meanwhile, the military recruit is "very thankful that God gave me the opportunity and gave me the strength to be able to control that situation."
"I'm thankful that I was the one closing on my brother and no one else was because I'm not too sure if any other of my coworkers would have done the same thing as I would have," he said. "I'm just happy that I was able to protect my brother."
