Cops: Woman tried to stab officer; more than 3,500 blades found in home
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. -- Authorities in Florida say they've removed more than 3,500 "bladed instruments" from the home of a woman they say tried to stab a sheriff's deputy.
Authorities say Nickcole Dykema tried to stab a sergeant with a large sword or machete Tuesday night inside a mobile home filled with thousands of knives, swords and bladed instruments that were hanging from the ceiling, scattered on the floor and poking out of Halloween masks. An apparent shrine with fake body parts from dolls was also found in the home, according to CBS affiliate WTSP.
Deputies had gone to the home in Brookesville, about 50 miles north of Tampa, to help probation and parole officers who had multiple felony warrants for her arrest stemming from probation violations.
Dykema had been on probation after being caught shoplifting at a dollar store in December, allegedly stealing chef knives with a sword down her pants and dagger around her waist, reports the station.
The station reports that Dykema allegedly slashed screens and sliced up an air conditioning unit outside her neighbor's home, drawing the initial response from probation officers. According to the terms of Dykema's probation, she couldn't be in the possession of weapons, reports the station. Dykema's probation order didn't require probation officials to enter her home, a Florida Department of Corrections spokesman told 48 Hours' Crimesider.
Once officers from the Hernando County Sheriff's Office arrived to assist probation officers, according to the department, they saw Dykema inside the home, staring at them through a window. She refused orders to exit the home and officers forced entry, according to the department.
That's when police say Dykema attempted to stab the sergeant, "missing his face and head by only inches."
Police say they shot Dykema twice during a five-hour standoff with bean bag rounds. On several instances she advanced towards officers while allegedly armed with multiple bladed weapons, police say, and refused orders from a crisis response team to exit the home.
Eventually, according to police, officers used a Taser on Dykema, and she was taken into custody after she fell to the ground.
"[The sergeant] would've been well within his rights to both legally or morally, and ethically to use deadly force on her. The fact that he didn't is his call," Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis told WTSP. "It's by the grace of God that everyone went home safe."
In a news release issued Thursday by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, police say officers worked throughout the day Wednesday removing what amounted to 3,714 bladed weapons from the home. While removing the weapons, several members of the department's personnel received minor injuries as a result of "booby traps" in blankets, floors and the home's yard, police say.
Dykema was held without bond on the probation violation warrants. She was also charged with property damage/criminal mischief, resisting an officer and assault on a law enforcement officer, according to the department.
Neighbors tell WTSP they hope she'll stay behind bars.
"Everyone in this neighborhood was scared of that woman," neighbor Fuzz Spisok told the station.