A Madison man is in Putnam County Jail after a landscape job last week turned violent even before the work began.
According to a Putnam County Sheriff’s Office report by Deputy Alex Rickey, a landscaper contracted to do some work on Sugar Creek Road reached out to a man he knew wasn’t working and asked if he’d be interested in helping finish the job. On Thursday, April 7, the helper, identified as Tristan Scott Yontz, arrived at the jobsite. It had been raining, so Yontz was told that he could not use the tractor to move gravel because it would tear up the rain-softened ground and mess up the yard.
Yontz reportedly became agitated and demanded money owed to him for the job but was told he would be paid when the job was completed. Yontz began cussing and shoved the employer to the ground and walked away, yelling threats. So, the employer got out his .22 caliber Beretta Neos pistol in case it was needed for self-defense, and placed a round in the chamber. As he did so, he reportedly looked up and saw Yontz walking toward him with a knife in his hand. Yontz flipped the knife open, pushed the employer into the driver seat of his pickup truck, grabbed the man by the throat and strangled him to the point he could not breathe. The employer later told Rickey that Yontz attempted to stab him twice while choking him. The man was able to grab Yontz’s arm and knock the knife out of Yontz’s hand, but Yontz grabbed the Beretta from him and struck the employer with his left hand while pointing the firearm at him with his right hand. Yontz reportedly told him, “I will kill you and your family,” then tossed the handgun into the bed of the employer’s pickup truck and started to walk off.
The employer commanded Yontz to get off the property, but instead of complying, Yontz turned around and grabbed the man by the throat once again, strangling and punching him. The man fought Yontz off, but Yontz responded by grabbing him and placing him in a choke hold before throwing him to the ground. Yontz then grabbed the pistol, took the magazine out of it and threw it across the yard, got in his truck and left.
The property owner who had contracted the landscaper arrived and showed Deputy Rickey the footage from the security cameras, which reportedly corroborated the landscaper’s story.
Tristan Scott Yontz, 25, of the 1200 block of Cochran Road, Madison, was arrested around 10 p.m. April 7 on two counts of aggravated assault, one count aggravated assault-strangulation, two counts possession of firearm or knife while trying to commit crime, simple battery, terroristic threats and acts. Bond was set at $31,000 but had not been posted at press time.