Electrician Charged With Killing Boss, 2 Others In Attack: Police

DAVENPORT, FLA. – An employee of a Pennsylvania electric company told police he was of clear mind when he killed three people — including his boss — in a brutal attack on Saturday morning after the two men got into an argument 24 hours earlier, police announced Saturday.

Shaun Runyon, 39, was arrested after law enforcement tracked him down at a Lake Whales hospital hours after he entered a local home and beat and stabbed four people just before 10 a.m. Saturday. Using K-9 units, drones and aerial units, police used a blood trail to track Runyon, who later showed up at a house in Lake Wells covered in blood, claiming he had been raped.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told reporters on Saturday that Runyon was part of a Pennsylvania-based electric company, J&B Electric, which was was in Lakeland doing work for Publix. On Friday, police said that Runyon became angered following with a dispute with his boss and punched his boss before leaving the scene shortly after 2 a.m.

At 9:44 a.m. Saturday, the sheriff’s office was alerted that someone had been killed at a Davenport home in the Windsor Resort subdivision. An investigation determined that Runyon returned to the neighborhood where he had been staying with co-workers and went into a home armed with a baseball bat and a knife, police said.

Police said that Runyon stabbed and beat seven people inside the home, including the man that police said Runyon had punched a day before. Police said that victim was beaten while he slept and later died at a local hospital.

"This is a cold-blooded, calculated violent murdering beast," Judd said at a news conference on Monday. "He planned in great detail how he was going to murder these three people.

He added: "(Runyon) had a clear plan to viscously murder these folks."

On Monday, police announced the identity of the victims. They include Kevin Lanusse, Runyon's boss, who Judd said had gotten after Runyon for not working hard enough while the crew was working an overnight shift in Lakeland. Police said Monday that Runyon is the half-brother of the owner of J&B Electric, which is based in Bethlehem, Penn., Judd said.

Runyon had both marijuana and cocaine in his system at the time of the killings, the sheriff said.

A third person was found dead on the porch of the home and Judd said that Runyon chased a fourth person into the street and hit that person in the shoulder and back with a baseball bat. Three people, including a seven-year-old girl, were able to escape the home without harm, Judd said.

Judd said Monday that after getting into the alternation with his boss, Runyon was told to come back to Pennsylvania by the owner of the company. Judd said Runyon was in Georgia when he learned of sale a sporting goods outlet was holding and stopped to purchase a cross bow, which Grady said he intended to return with Florida with to kill the three people.

Judd said that Runyon ditched the company truck at the Tampa airport and rented a Nissan Versa, which he then drove back to a local Target store, where he purchased a baseball bat, Judd said. Runyon then returned to a Polk County Walmart, where he fell asleep hours before the attack.

Runyon then returned to the home in Davenport, where he parked two blocks away from the home where he had been staying with his co-workers, Judd said Monday. Runyon told police he first went into his boss's room and beat Lanusse with the baseball bat and "went to town on his face," Runyon told investigators.

"Thank God, Kevin never knew what hit him," Judd said Monday.

Police said that Runyon then went upstairs and beat Dulon Donnell, a Baltimore resident, while he slept before he then entered the room of Greg Dolezal, Akron, Ohio, who fought with Runyon, who then admitted to stabbing his co-worker, Judd said. Dolezal managed to get downstairs before he collapsed on the front porch and died, Judd said.

After arriving at the home in Lake Whales, Runyon told a Publix employee he had agreed to do tile work for that he had been raped. After the person said that he needed to get to a hospital, Runyon left the bloody clothes behind.

Shortly after 11:30 a.m., police found Runyon at Lake Whales Hospital and took him into custody. Judd told reporters that Runyon confessed to the killings and police determined that he knew all of the victims.

“We have no idea what outraged him so bad that more than 24 hours (after the dispute), he would come back and make an attempt to kill every one of them,” Judd said Monday.

Judd said that Runyon confessed to the crimes multiple times on Saturday while continuing to tell police he had been raped by the three co-workers. The sheriff added said that Runyon was given a sexual battery test and that there is "zero evidence" that any sexual offenses were committed on Runyon.

Two of the three victims were the father of children, Grady said Monday.

"These were good people who traveled across the country to do work and they were met by this evil, evil person," Judd said Monday.

He added: "On Saturday morning after (the victims had been) working all night, (Runyon) knew they would be vulnerable, he knew they would be sleeping, he knew he could take out his vicious attack without opposition because they would be sleeping. And that's what he did."

Judd said that Runyon is also charged in Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania with a felony count of strangulation May 21 along with misdemeanor counts of child endangerment, terroristic threat, reckless endangerment and other charges. He was scheduled for formal arraignment and a pretrial conference Oct. 14.

Judd said Runyon was currently out on a $75,000 bail.

"I understand that people have the right to bail, but it does occur to me that if (Runyon) had still be locked up for his May arrest in Pennsylvania, we would have these fathers, these good men alive and working and with their family today," Judd said.