DeLand native accused of tackling deacon in South Florida

DELAND, Fla. - A man from DeLand is accused of assaulting a deacon at a church in South Florida.

An unsaintly sin in the middle of mass. Deacon George Labelle was tackled in a Pompano Beach church.  Parishioners ran to his rescue.

Investigators say they arrested Thomas Eisel, who grew up in DeLand.

"He didn’t have control of his emotions, so the slightest thing he could go off on a tangent," said Flore Bench, a neighbor.

Flore Bench says Eisel and his mother lived in her neighborhood for years.  While she says he had his issues, he always behaved around her.

"He was very nice," she said. "He was always very pleasant and I never had any problem with him."

But two weeks ago he showed up in his old neighborhood.

"My wife called the police," said Ron Richards, who said Easel knocked on his door.

It’s the same home that Eisel and his mother once lived in.

"I heard he really was a troublemaker so why get into an incident with him if I could avoid it," Richards said. "So, I said, 'You don’t live here anymore' and I closed the door and locked it."

Records show Eisel was arrested for battery toward his mother back in 2017.  

Richards said, "He attacked his mom. He’s just bad."

Richards says other neighbors tried helping Eisel throughout the years.

"She tried for years to help him, he just didn’t want the help. He knows the bible real well. Well, to know the bible real well doesn’t mean you have a relationship with the Lord," he said.

Just in case, Richards plans to be on the lookout for the safety of everyone.

"If I see him again, I’m not even gonna bother with police number, I’m just gonna call 911," he said.