‘Douche du Jour’: Man Refused Beer in Bar Shoots Patron, Eats his Lung

Herbert Merritt, fresh from a fierce fight with his girlfriend, decided to blow off some steam at a local bar. He headed down to Friends Sports Bar and Grill in Halls, Tennessee, where he met his buddy Douglas Statzer. The men hugged, but Merritt’s mood soured when Statzer reminded him he’d been 86′ed from Friends and couldn’t drink there. According to True Crime Report, Merritt, known as “Mad Max” to Friends’ staff, was banned because he once brandished a knife in the bar.

Off-duty bar employee Susie Jacobs told Merritt to get lost, but he wasn’t going anywhere until he got a cold one. But there was no way staff were going to serve him, and patron Anthony Ford stepped in to help them give Merritt the boot. But like I said, Merritt wasn’t going anywhere. He pulled out a gun, shot Ford six times, then stabbed him.

That’s just the beginning of this horror story. After critically wounding Ford, Merritt went out to his vehicle, got himself a shotgun, and went back inside Friends. By then, a SWAT team had arrived on the scene and surrounded the bar. A Friends’ employee phoned Merritt and asked him to drag Ford to the door so he could receive medical attention. Too late, said Merritt, he’d carved out Ford’s heart and was now eating it. It was actually Ford’s lung he was snacking on.

The standoff eventually ended with Merritt’s arrest. His lawyer claimed he was insane and had forgotten to take his medication that bloody day. According to True Crime Report, prosecutors countered that Merritt was faking his psychosis so he could get his hands on drugs. The jury agreed; the 49-year-old Merritt will be spending the rest of his life behind bars.

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