Victim of beating found dead

Authorities say the death of the man robbers attacked in August may be drug-related.

By HELEN ANNE TRAVIS, Times Staff Writer
Published September 5, 2007

LAND O'LAKES - In August, Joseph Drummond survived a brutal beating when several men broke into his trailer and attacked him with a cement block, a pair of pliers - and his own TV set.

The robbers made off with more than $1,000 worth of Drummond's prescription drugs, including Xanax and Oxcycodone.

Family members say the event left Drummond, 33, shaken. Even though Pasco deputies have made several arrests in the incident, Drummond feared that he would be attacked again.

On Friday, Drummond's body was found in the spare bedroom of a friend's Land O'Lakes home. Preliminary investigation leads deputies to believe Drummond's death was drug-related.

Drummond attended a friend's cookout Thursday and went to bed around midnight at the friend's home, according to deputies.

Friends checked in on him in the morning. He appeared to be breathing and they let him sleep.

Drummond's nephew came to the home around 4:30 p.m. Friday and found Drummond unresponsive. The nephew, Samuel Bliven, 23, performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but it was too late.

Bliven said his uncle had been very nervous since the August attack. "He got hurt pretty bad," he said. "He was really scared afterwards."

The robbery wasn't the only thing weighing on his mind. Drummond lost a dear friend to a drug overdose just a few days before the robbery, Bliven said.

Drummond took pain medication for a back injury. Bliven didn't know if his uncle had needed more since the attack.

Drummond may have been "high on Xanax" the night before he died, witnesses told deputies.

A blue straw with white powder inside it was found underneath the mattress where Drummond slept. Deputies do not know who the straw belonged to or how long it had been under the mattress. They are conducting tests to determine what the substance is.

Helen Anne Travis can be reached at 352 521-6518 or htravis@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 4, 2007, 21:30:41]