ORLANDO, Fla. – A seemingly random attack in downtown Orlando that resulted in a woman being slashed across the face with a knife has now been determined to be a domestic violence incident, according to the Orlando Police Department.
Police said Monday that Alexis Colón Colón was upset with his ex-girlfriend, who is also the mother of his child, so he paid a homeless man $100 to attack the victim, telling the acquaintance to “hurt a female who upset him.”
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Surveillance video from Plaza parking garage on April 17 showed a gold Toyota Prius following the victim to her parking space before she was attacked by a masked assailant, records show.
Through the investigation, police said they determined the car was rented by 35-year-old Colón Colón.
According to the affidavit, Colón Colón was with the victim while she was at a hospital being treated for wounds to her face and claimed he had no role in the attack.
Police said they interviewed the victim again a few days after the attack and she told them that Colón Colón had placed a tracking device on her vehicle about two weeks prior due to jealousy issues.
She was also questioned about the Prius and said she remembered seeing it at a tow yard on Ferguson Drive that Colón Colón has been associated with, according to the affidavit.
Records show investigators went there and determined a Prius in the lot matched with the Prius seen in the surveillance video.
On April 27, two people who were in the Prius were pulled over and they explained that they were present when the Prius and a Jeep were rented around the time of the attempted murder but the transactions were in cash and there was no record of them.
Those two witnesses pointed police in the direction of a third person, who knew Colón Colón only as “Joker” and said he was present when Colón Colón paid a homeless man $100 to attack the victim, according to the report.
He said he was driving around downtown Orlando with Colón Colón and the other man as Colón Colón pointed out the victim’s work and where she normally parks before her shift, authorities said.
Colón Colón was arrested Thursday on charges of public order crimes - criminal attempt felony second degree and burglary with a deadly weapon.
A news release did not identify the acquaintance Colón reportedly solicited. Police said additional arrests and charges could be forthcoming.
Victims of domestic violence can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 24 hours a day, at 1-800-799-7233 or in Central Florida, the Harbor House 24-hour crisis hotline at 407-886-2856. If the situation is an emergency, call 911.