Neo-Nazi inmate arrested again

He faces murder and attempted murder charges. He has been arrested three times while in jail.

By Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer
Published February 21, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT John A. Ditullio has been charged with trying to escape jail.

LAND O'LAKES - John Allen Ditullio was indicted in 2006 for murder and attempted murder. The neo-Nazi has been in the Pasco County jail ever since, awaiting trial.

But staying behind bars and staying out of trouble are two mutually exclusive concepts for Ditullio.

Ditullio, who faces the death penalty if convicted of fatally stabbing 17-year-old Kristofer King, has been arrested three times while in the jail.

The latest arrest came last weekend, when deputies say Ditullio and another inmate damaged the sprinkler heads in their cells, flooding their cell block.

Ditullio and fellow inmate Daniel Sanchez, both 21, were arrested Saturday on a charge of preventing or obstructing extinguishment of fire - in this case by damaging fire suppression equipment. And the Pasco County Sheriff's Office says it's just the latest in a series of incidents involving what might be the jail's most infamous resident.

"Unfortunately we've had a number of times where he's pushed the envelope of things," said sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin, "and he's racked up a number of other charges while waiting for his murder case."

This latest incident occurred Friday night, according to a sheriff's report. Sanchez and Ditullio reside in single-occupancy cells. Water to all the sprinklers there had to be shut off and they were arrested early the next morning.

"All I have to say is I didn't do it," Ditullio told deputies, according to a report. "The aliens did it."

Sanchez was being held in the jail on charges of loitering or prowling, possession of burglary tools, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of marijuana.

As for Ditullio, deputies say last year they foiled an elaborate escape attempt on his part. He was accused of trying to break out of his jail cell using saw blades and torn sheets. Authorities say he cut through his cell toilet and fashioned rope and civilian clothing from old jail jumpsuits.

Ditullio, who blamed "aliens" then as well, was charged with escape. (The Sheriff's Office has since surmised the saw blades were not smuggled in, but rusty implements left behind by those who built the jail back in the early 1990s.)

That was in May. In September deputies placed Ditullio under arrest while he was inside a cell again. The charge this time was possession of contraband in a detention facility. An arrest report said a deputy found tobacco and a sharpened toothbrush in Ditullio's cell.

And Ditullio still faces charges of aggravated assault, domestic battery and tampering with a witness in a case involving the attack of his f girlfriend in February 2006 - before his arrest and indictment for the Teak Street stabbing.

Capt. Ed Beckman, who runs the sheriff's jails, said Ditullio is considered a "risk" prisoner.

When Ditullio is brought to court, it is under the highest guard. In the jail, he is never far from a deputy's sight - but the prisoner is afforded a certain amount of movement in his cell alone. There are limits to what can be done about Ditullio, according to the Sheriff's Office.

"We can't just wrap him up," Beckman said.

Jamal Thalji can be reached at thalji@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6236.

[Last modified February 20, 2008, 21:38:00]