Man shot, arrested on Christmas after attacking former boss with nail-studded baseball bat

Corey Arwood | Treasure Coast Newspapers

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A local business owner told authorities he shot a former employee in self defense after the man attacked him with a nail-spiked baseball bat, according to Sheriff's Office records.

Deputies arrested Matthew Thomas Shaler, 38, of the 5600 block of 38th Place, around 8 a.m. Dec. 25 and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and felony armed trespassing.

According to an arrest affidavit, the incident occurred seven days before Shaler's Christmas arrest.

The owner of the local flooring business said on Dec. 18 around 11 a.m. he was inside his 39th Street office when he heard a loud bang on his door.

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A detective reported Shaler stood outside wearing a mask and holding a bat he described as "approximately 3 feet long with ...10 long metal nails sticking out from different angles ... in the head of the bat."

Shaler was not allowed on the property and had been issued a trespass warning on May 23, the affidavit stated.

Inside the office, the man said he "grabbed a shotgun" after he heard Shaler say through the office door he wanted to "squash it."

According to the report, he asked Shaler to leave multiple times, then opened the door enough to fire the gun once at the ground.

He said he shot one more time before Shaler "began laughing and attempted to open the office door," Detective Christopher Scribner wrote in the affidavit.

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After a struggle in the doorway, Shaler swung the bat and the man fired the gun a third time next to his leg, "still not wanting to hurt (Shaler)," Scribner stated.

The next time Shaler approached him, he shot him in the leg. Shaler said, "Ow, that hurt," and crawled away, according to Scribner.

Shaler told detectives it was all a joke and he'd walked there with the bat wearing a mask to "thank" his former boss, though would not tell them what he was thanking him for.

According to the report, Shaler had threatened the man before with homemade explosive devices.

Jail records stated Shaler was released Dec. 26 after paying a $35,000 bond.

Shaler could not be reached by phone, and the business owner did not return calls for comment.

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Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Corey on Twitter @coreyarwood, or reach him by phone at 772-978-2246.