Florida man allegedly cuts power to gay couple’s home, then stabs one of them with a chisel
Police found a journal in which the suspect allegedly wrote of his hatred for the victims due to their sexual orientation
A Florida man who kept a journal about hating people because of their sexual orientation allegedly cut the power to the home of a gay couple and attacked one of them.
Damiek Jones, 31, of Orlando, is accused of stabbing the victim in the legs with a chisel multiple times because of a personal dispute, according to charging documents.
Police were called to a house on Inwood Avenue, near Pettis Park, in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., around 11:16 p.m. on Sunday, where they encountered the victim, suffering from stab wounds as well as a laceration to his head.
The victim told police he and his boyfriend were sitting in their home when the power went out. He went outside to check the circuit breaker, at which point, he was hit in the head, possibly with brass knuckles.
He fell to the ground, and his attacker began stabbing him multiple times in the back of his thighs, yelling, “I got you now, bitch, got you now, faggots. I got you now!”
During the attack, the victim said a bandana fell off the attacker’s face, allowing the victim to recognize Jones.
The victim told police Jones used to live with him and believed he was attacking him because of a dispute over a washer and dryer. The victim also said Jones knew the home had surveillance cameras and believes that was why he cut the power prior to the attack.
The victim’s boyfriend said he heard yelling, saw Jones fleeing and chased him down the street, and saw Jones throw something into a neighbor’s yard. Police later went to the spot and found a chisel stuck in the ground, along with a red bandana, hat, and scarf.
Police also found a backpack about 30 yards away, which contained a blue glass pipe with white residue, a baggie with a white powdery substance, later determined to be methamphetamine, a bag containing pills determined to be alprazolam, also known as Xanax, a knife, three watches, nunchucks, and a journal.
Police began reading the journal, which contained an entry in which the author appears to have written about his hate for people because of their sexual orientation, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
“I now understand that to hate them all is a requirement,” the entry reads, naming the victim and his boyfriend, as well as two women. “[A]ll of you shall have a moment of fate to look forward too (sic).”
See also: Mississippi trans woman’s slaying leads to calls for LGBTQ hate crime protections
According to court records, Jones was arrested on Monday and charged with committing a second-degree misdemeanor with prejudice, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a Schedule IV substance.
The misdemeanor charge with prejudice refers to a note in the charging documents that alleges Jones “committed the crime with prejudice based on the sexual orientation of the victim and knew or had reasonable grounds to know or perceive the victim was within the class delineated.”
After appearing in court on Tuesday, Volusia County Seventh Circuit Court Judge Christopher Kelly issued an order stating that Jones, if released, must stay away from the victims, their house, and must turn over any firearms he owns while the case against him is being litigated.
Jones is currently being held in Volusia County Branch Jail on $56,000 bail, according to electronic court records. He is next scheduled to appear in court before Seventh Circuit Court Judge Raul Zambrano on Mar. 2.
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