BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A man waiting for a ride-hailing service Sunday night in Cocoa Village was stabbed by a suspect who was later found hiding under a bridge, according to the Cocoa Police Department.
Officers arrived around 8:30 p.m. at the 300 block of King Street, locating the victim with multiple lacerations to his body, including a deep laceration to his neck.
“Caller’s advising he’s in the parking lot,” a dispatcher reported. “Male had a knife and stabbed him three times.. in the neck and back kidney area and is bleeding.”
The victim told police that he had been eating with his family at the Time Out sports bar and was attempting to order an Uber by the Dirty Oar brewery after his family had left. The suspect — identified as Jeremy Moore, 40 — allegedly became verbally aggressive with the victim before attacking him from behind, what the victim described as feeling like blows from a fist before realizing he was being stabbed. The victim managed to strike Moore in the head before the suspect ran away, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Cocoa police looked to multiple tips received that night regarding an individual named “Jeremy” being involved in the incident. One anonymous source directed police to the Central Library on Forrest Avenue, where Moore had allegedly called the source to state he was hiding under the 520 Bridge at Lee Wenner Park.
Officers canvassed the area of the bridge, where they located and detained Moore. Moore’s retelling of events claimed self-defense as the 40-year-old said the victim had attacked and at one point was on top of him after following him toward the cemetery on Cocoa Boulevard. Regarding Moore’s alleged use of a knife in the incident, he initially stated he did not have a knife, yet said later in the interview “it was quite possible that he used a different object to defend himself,” the report states.
The victim was hospitalized and Moore was booked to be held on a $150,000 bond, records show. He faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and attempted first-degree felony murder.
At his first appearance in court Monday morning, Moore was found indigent, appointed a public defender, and ordered to have no contact with the victim, as well as no possession of weapons.
In a Facebook post Tuesday, police said Cocoa’s violent crime rate is down 14% compared to the same time last year.
The data is from January until July 21.
News 6 reporter asked to interview Chief Evander Collier about the crime rate and the stabbing but police said the chief wasn’t available.
A shopper who lives in Cocoa Village said she still thinks the historic downtown is safe.
“I know there’s some homeless people here,” Great Baumann said. “Some may or may not have a mental health issue. I’ll definitely be a little more cautious, look around. But I don’t feel unsafe, no. I do love it here.”
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