ECSO: Man beat people with metal pipe

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - If you were near the intersection of I-10 and Davis Highway in Pensacola Thursday afternoon, you probably felt the presence of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

With a chopper soaring above, and deputies patrolling the streets, the hunt was on for Jerry Richard Wright.

Deputies say Wright struck multiple people with a metal pipe Wednesday morning, attacking them while they slept.

Ronald Thost says he knows all the victims in this crime and has associated with Wright for the last couple years.  He says they all share the streets together, including "the big tree" as Thost called it.

That’s where the alleged incident occurred.

Thost says he ran into Wright just after the alleged crimes.

“He just said that he had this pipe, and he beat the heck out of a bunch of people with it," Thost said.  "At the time I didn’t really take it all that serious. And then, after I left the camp he crawled into my tent and that’s the last I saw of him.”

Deputies say Wright rode his bicycle from the tree to the Queen Mary Inn, where another man was beaten the same way.

“It was a random act of violence that happened yesterday," said Queen Mary Inn manager Stephen Richardson.  "It was someone who trespassed on the property and harassed one of our guests here at the hotel.”

For the most part, deputies say the victims suffered minor injuries as a result of the attacks.

But one man, who Thost identified as Joel, has a fractured skull.

“I think it’s pretty yellow-back. I don’t want anything to do with him ever again," Thost said.  "I don’t want anything to do with anybody like that.”

Wright is wanted not only for four counts of aggravated battery as a result of the alleged beatings, but a Violation of Parole, as well.

Deputies say Jerry Richard Wright also goes by the name of Jerry Wilson.  Anyone who knows his whereabouts is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at 850-436-9620.