Man destroys car window before locking himself in his home, police say

A man smashed a car window with a hammer before locking himself inside his home Sunday morning.

Cape Coral police said Eliezer Alicea was the man with the hammer outside the home on Northwest 25th Street.

Police said the person who called 911 was Alicea’s father.

He called 911 after he said his son had a hammer in his hand that he had earlier used to beat into a window of his neighbor’s teal pickup truck.

“And so officers came, and his son was still outside with the hammer, kind of yelling at the neighbor,” said Mercedes Phillips, Cape Coral Police Department Public Information Officer. “The dad said to the neighbor, ‘Hey, go back inside,’ and then his son had also went inside at the same time, close the doors.”

Neighbors said this is not the first time Alicea has acted out.

WINK News spoke with several neighbors on this street off camera, including the neighbor who had his truck window beat in with a hammer. They said Eliezer Alicea has displayed warning signs for years, and many have had concerning run-ins with him.

One neighbor who lives behind him never experienced him being violent but did find him in his backyard a few years back.

Phillips said the neighbor had property damage and felt threatened.

“He had locked doors locked himself inside,” Phillips said, “and officers noticed that he was hitting the walls inside with the hammer as well, so we needed to get him outside. We had one of our specialty response teams that were activated. They came over. They were giving verbal commands from the bearcat for him to come outside, and then eventually he came outside unharmed.”

Both Cape police and neighbors said this is an issue of mental health. Several neighbors said they are scared to ensure he does not continue to endanger himself or others.

“He was in my backyard, and I have a chain link fence, so he had to go through the gate and stuff, so afterward, I called the cops, CCPD, and I let them know, and they’re already aware of the guy. They know he’s ex-military. He came out of the military with schizophrenia,” said Austin Judd, a neighbor.

Cape Coral police also said he is former military and schizophrenic with PTSD.

Several neighbors said they have dealt with threats and property damage as a result of Alicea and cops are here often.

They are upset, but they understand he needs help. Cape Coral police said he is in jail, and they plan to get him help.

His mother contacted WINK News and said he does need medical attention, but she isn’t ready to talk on camera yet.