VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A 31-year-old man faces charges in the stabbing death of another man in Deltona on Sunday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the incident was initially reported as a shooting around 11 a.m. when the 21-year-old victim came out of a house on Glenridge Terrace, “bleeding with an obvious injury to his abdomen.”
According to a news release, a witness stopped to help and called 911 and when asked who was responsible for his injury, the victim pointed back at the house but was unable to provide more details. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, the sheriff’s office said.
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Deputies said they searched the area for a person of interest, later identified as 31-year-old Joseph L. McDonald. McDonald’s name was provided by a witness who was in the home’s garage at the time of the incident and was still on scene when deputies arrived.
According to the release, McDonald fled the scene but with his photo already released to the public and reverse 911 calls sent out to surrounding residents, the sheriff’s office started to receive reports of sightings.
McDonald was located around 1:15 p.m. coming out of some brush off of the 2000 block of Newmark Drive, about three miles from the incident, deputies said.
Deputies said McDonald had an injury to his left hand that was wrapped and bleeding and was transported to a hospital for treatment.
At the hospital, an examination of the victim’s body revealed he had stab wounds, not gunshot wounds as initially believed, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies were advised McDonald’s hand injuries appeared to be lacerations from a sharp object.
In an interview with investigators, the witness from the house said he and the victim went to their friend’s house at on Glenridge Terrace “to smoke marijuana.”
According to the release, the friend wasn’t home, but his brother, McDonald, was. McDonald let them in, but eventually became upset when he was not given a chance to smoke. The witness told investigators that McDonald threatened to kill the victim.
Deputies said as the argument escalated, the victim went to the garage, where he heard the two scuffling inside the house. Soon after, the victim came outside bleeding and asking someone to call 911.
Investigators said McDonald had been living at the house for about two months and had been experiencing significant mental illness for several years.
McDonald faces charges of first-degree murder will be held without bond, deputies said.
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