ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A man is in jail, accused of trying to kill two men by placing a Molotov cocktail at their door.
St. Petersburg police say Bertram Mann was trying to stop the two from leaving. When one of them got out of the house, police say Mann hit him with a hatchet.
"I got real lucky, I think. He missed my lungs and he missed my throat by about a half-inch," William Scherer said.
Scherer spoke exclusively to 10News. He has gashes on his back, head, and neck. He says he's lost a lot of blood.
"He attacked me with a hatchet. It was the pointy end of it, so it was more of a puncture wound," said Scherer.
He just got out of the hospital and says Bertram Mann IV struck him Thursday night after lighting a trailer on fire.
"All of a sudden, I see a bright light flash and he had lit a bottle and threw it under that trailer! They go up fast," Scherer said.
Scherer found out fires were being lit on his property through a friend who spotted Bertram walking with bottles full of accelerant.
"The person that called me smelled the gas and said, 'You better come over here.' When I came home and he was gone. I said, 'Maybe we should sit out on the front porch and keep an eye out. Maybe he's going to come back.' Sure enough, he came back," said Scherer.
Bertram tried to light Scherer's trailer on fire. When he rushed to put it out, Bertram attacked him with a hatchet.
"It hurts real bad now. It took a day or two for it to really get sore," Scherer said.
Police charged Bertram with first-degree arson and attempted murder. Even though Scherer met the man years ago, he didn't know him well. He still doesn't understand why Bertram would try to kill him.
"I don't think he was after me. He was after something else. I was collateral damage. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Scherer said.
Scherer says he believes Bertram may have mental health issues. Bertram is in jail on a $250,000 bond.
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