TAMPA (CelebrityAccess) — The guitarist for the death metal band Cannibal Corpse was arrested on Monday and charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault or battery.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, 53-year-old Patrick “Pat” O’Brien was alleged to have entered a Tampa residence shortly before 7:00 p.m. on Monday and disregarded the occupants’ requests to leave.
The arrest report stated that O’Brien was not known to the occupants of the house and pushed a woman to the ground before he headed to the backyard.
Deputies who responded to the incident alleged that they found O’Brien hiding behind a fence near the house and that he ran towards one of the deputies “with a knife in his right hand” prompting the officers to employ a taser to subdue him.
At just about the same time as he was being arrested, Hillsborough County firefighters responded to a fire which broke out at his home a short distance away. According to WFTS, witnesses reported an apparent domestic dispute at the home before the fire broke out.
The battle with the fire took about an hour to bring under control and firefighters said their efforts were hampered by ammunition exploding in the flames.
“They got about halfway through when the flames got too strong and they were hearing the pops and crackles of ammunition, so they had to take a defensive posture,” Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman Eric Seidel told the Tampa Bay Times.
Officials also said the blaze was exacerbated by two military-style flamethrowers that were stored inside of the home.
WFTS reported that Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is investigating the incident. Deputies have not charged O’Brien in connection with the house fire at this time, but he’s being held on a $50,000 bond on the other charges.
Cannibal Corpse announced earlier this week that they are headed out on Slayer’s farewell tour in May.
