As FBI Raided, Probe Target Knifed Computer

MAY 10--In an apparent attempt to destroy evidence, a Florida man stabbed his computer with a samurai sword as FBI agents raided his home in connection with a child pornography probe, according to court records.

When federal investigators arrived early Tuesday at the Palm Coast residence of Kamil Mezalka, 21, nobody answered their “knock and announcement.” So agents “executed a mechanical breach of the door” and stormed the home.

As recounted in an affidavit sworn by Agent Jonathan MacDonald, Mezalka emerged from his second-floor bedroom, spotted the federal interlopers, and returned to his room and closed the door.

After Mezalka ignored demands to exit the bedroom, agents entered the chamber, where they spotted him “standing in his underwear, holding a two-handed samurai sword which he had stabbed into the side of a desktop computer.” Mezalka, MacDonald reported, ignored directions to drop the sword. When Mezalka began to remove the sword from the computer, agents pounced on him to “eliminate any potential danger.”

Mezalka is pictured above in a photo posted last year to his Facebook page. Remarking on the weapons in the background, a friend of his commented, “is this ur room? nice swords.”

Agents had secured a search warrant for Mezalka’s residence after an undercover FBI agent recently downloaded illicit images and videos from Mezalka’s computer via a peer-to-peer file sharing service.

During an interview with FBI agents, Mezalka admitted “having a file sharing program on his computer which he used to download pornography to include child pornography.” Mezalka, who used the online handle “Wolfcarven,” reportedly told investigators that he was “attracted to teenage girls 13 to 18 years in age.” He also admitted that it was “possible” he downloaded pornographic images of girls younger than 13, MacDonald reported.

An FBI forensic examiner who reviewed the hard drive of Mezalka’s desktop computer--which survived the samurai sword stabbing--discovered hundreds of files depicting “the sexual abuse of children,” according to MacDonald.

Charged with possession of child pornography, Mezalka is currently locked up in advance of a detention hearing Friday in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville. (5 pages)