GLOUCESTER Co., Va. – A Gloucester County man said he fought to defend himself and protect his family aftera frightening incident involving his neighbor.
Cameron Oddo acted without hesitation after an unexpected and bizarre home break-in one week ago.
“My first instinct was [to] dodge, disarm him,” Oddo said.
He said his next-door neighbor, Johnny Gremer, 47, busted his window with his grill and a hammer, eventually making his way inside through the front door.
Oddo was asleep with his fiancée and 2-year-old daughter when he heard the glass shattering.
“I jump out of bed and come out here,” said Oddo. “Then, our door flies open, and he is just chucking knives.”
Gloucester County deputies say Gremer was armed with several knives when he broke into the Cedarwood Drive apartment at 7:30 a.m.
Oddo said he had five knives in each hand – chef, steak and paring knives.
“The first two, I dodged and missed; the third one grazed me right here,” he said, pointing to his torso.
Oddo said Gremer then grabbed a decorative sword in the home and starting swinging.
“As soon as he got the sword, I pivoted, rotated, grabbed his arms, wrapped his legs this way and fell backward,” said Oddo.
Oddo said the fight ended up his in the kitchen. His neighbor still had the sword in his hands. Slashes from the sword can be seen in the wall.
As Oddo was defending himself, he said he managed to pin Gremer down again, preventing him from getting to the back room where his fiancée and daughter were hiding.
Oddo’s fiancée then threw a snow globe at Gremer’s face, but that didn’t stop him.
“While I had him on the ground, I repeatedly head-butted him until he dropped the sword,” said Oddo. “Then, I started punching him. He started begging for his life. I dragged him to front door and let him out.”
Oddo was left with a fractured finger and deep cuts that needed stitches.
He said Gremer moved in a couple of months ago. He believes Gremer was trying to take his 2-year-old daughter. Oddo said Gremer repeatedly tried to get his daughter to come outside, and just a few days before the alleged attack, Gremer tried to lure her with candy.
“He was banging on our door, and I opened it,” said Oddo. “He was like, ‘Can your daughter come outside and get this candy?’ I was like, ‘No. I don’t think so.’"
Oddo said his family was targeted.
“He’s been obsessed with our child,” he said. “We’re also the only people in the complex that have a child.”
Gremer was arrested by sheriff's deputies and faces several charges including breaking and entering and malicious wounding. He’s being held in Northern Neck Regional Jail without bail. His next court date is June 9.
