A mother has written a letter in support of her son who remains behind bars after a racially motivated attack on a black Villager earlier this year.
The mother of 37-year-old Kyle David Parrish recently penned a letter to Judge Mary Hatcher attempting to explain her son’s plight.
Parrish was tracked down and arrested after the bizarre attack on the 80-year-old at his home in the Village of Charlotte.
Otis Lane, a veteran and a retired educator who is active in leadership at his church and other organizations, was at home with his wife on April 24 when Parrish showed up and rang the doorbell. Lane didn’t immediately recognize Parrish, but later realized that Parrish worked for an irrigation company operated by Parrish’s father. The Villager had been using the irrigation company for several years.
Lane went out to his driveway and met Parrish.
“He was very angry and told me that he didn’t want my kind living here and I had better leave,” said Lane, who purchased his home with his wife in 2014. “I struggled to understand him and asked him to explain.”
Parrish immediately punched the Villager in the face, using his “full force,” according to a description of the attack on file in Sumter County Court. The Villager suffered a busted lip.
Parrish “then hurried to his truck, yelled several expletives, and sped off.”
In her letter to the judge, Ruth Etheze of Ocala said her son has struggled with drug addiction.
“Over the past several years, I have watched my son struggle with unresolved childhood trauma and what I believe are significant personal and health-related challenges due to a drug addiction. In addition, I have become increasingly worried that he may be suffering from an underlying mental health condition due to drug psychosis that has never been properly evaluated or treated,” she wrote.
She said drugs have made her son into someone she has struggled to recognize, but she believes he still has a heart of gold.
“As his mother, I have had the privilege of watching him grow into a caring, loving and compassionate person. While I understand the seriousness of the charge before the court, I want you to know that the behavior that led to this situation is not the representative of the person I have known throughout his life,” she said.
Etheze added that she hopes her son can be admitted into a drug rehabilitation program.
“I believe that with the proper evaluation and access to appropriate treatment, my son can get the help he needs,” she said.
Parrish remains at the Sumter County Detention Center.
In 2010, Parrish was arrested by the Fruitland Park Police Department on a felony charge of domestic battery by strangulation. The charge was dismissed after Parrish successfully completed a pre-trial intervention program. In 2011, a woman sought an injunction for protection against domestic violence, including protection for minor children. In an effort to resolve the matter, Parrish agreed to enroll in parental counseling. He has had several traffic tickets, including for speeding, failure to pay a toll and failure to wear a seat belt. In 2024, he was issued a criminal citation for driving while license suspended.
If Parrish makes bond, he will have to wear a GPS monitor, according to an order issued by the court. He is forbidden from coming within 500 feet of the Villager or his home. Parrish will not be allowed to contact the Villager, including by text, email or social media.
The attack has been classified as a hate crime.