A man running for governor in Florida was arrested after deputies said he attacked two elderly people inside a home during a domestic disturbance in Palm Coast, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the FCSO, deputies responded to a home on Cleveland Court on Friday morning after receiving a report that a man, later identified as Kevin Cichowski, of Palm Coast, had battered two elderly people inside the home – hitting one with a cane and throwing a cellphone at the other – and allegedly had a gun.
The 911 caller, who was one of the victims, told first responders that Cichowski had threatened to kill them multiple times, and said he would kill law enforcement if they were called, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility mug shot
When deputies arrived at the scene, they said they located the two victims hiding in a bedroom and said they were unable to leave because one of them was bedridden, according to deputies.
The deputies then safely escorted the men from the home through the lanai.
Cichowski later surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident, the sheriff’s office said.
He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of battery on a person over 65, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, tampering with a witness and two counts of robbery by sudden snatching.
Deputies said that while he was being taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, he was making suicidal statement and then was placed into protective custody under a Baker Act.
“When responding to a situation where a suspect has a weapon and has threatened to kill the victims and law enforcement, it’s critical that we do everything we can to safely de-escalate the situation and quickly rescue the victims from immediate danger,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a news release. “I commend our deputies, RTCC analysts, and the 911 dispatchers for working together for a safe resolution and arrest the suspect before the situation escalated to a violent ending.”
Deputies said that Cichowski was previously arrested in 2024 for domestic battery, domestic bettery by strangulation and false imprisonment.
He is currently running for governor of Florida, and previously ran for Palm Coast mayor in 2021.
