MELBOURNE, Fla. – A man arrested Tuesday in Melbourne is accused of stabbing the owner of a bicycle that he was trying to steal, according to police.
Officers responded around 5 a.m. to the reported stabbing, looking for their suspect — Jonathan Sepulveda, 41 — but unable to initially locate him. A witness tipped off officers that Sepulveda was in a residence in the 700 block of East Fee Avenue, where he was soon located under a blanket on the living room floor and detained, according to a probable cause affidavit.
One of the officers was approached by a woman who lived at the residence, the affidavit states. The woman reportedly said that Sepulveda had just stabbed someone and told the officer where to find the knife underneath a nearby dumpster, adding her account of how he allegedly obtained and used the weapon.
(She) advised shortly after 5:00 a.m. Jonathan entered the residence and requested for (her) to give him a knife to “cut his belt.” (She) states she tried to give Jonathan a large kitchen knife, but he stated that it wouldn’t work. (She) states (she) then gave him a blue folding style pocketknife which Jonathan kept and left the house. (She) stated Jonathan returned to the residence within 10 minutes and excitedly stated “I just stabbed that cracker!”
Jonathan Sepulveda probable cause affidavit (excerpt)
Sepulveda placed the bloody knife onto a kitchen counter when he returned to the residence, prompting the woman to wash the knife and throw it under the dumpster out of fear, police said. There was no word on pending charges against the woman.
Officers later met with the victim, who said he had been sleeping on the sidewalk at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Waverly Place when Sepulveda tried to take his bicycle. The victim had tied the bicycle to a chain link fence with a cloth belt and was leaning against it when he was awoken by Sepulveda pulling the bike away from him, then attempting to ride away on a flat tire.
The victim and another man chased Sepulveda and caught up to him, where the victim then grabbed hold of a basket on the bike’s rear, police said. Sepulveda allegedly told the victim that he had a knife and was going to stab him, but the victim didn’t let go. Sepulveda then turned and stabbed the victim first in the chest, then in a slashing motion from the victim’s right elbow to his wrist, before getting off of the bike and crushing its front wheel out of anger, according to the affidavit.
The victim was hospitalized as a trauma alert, police said. Hospital staff allegedly told the victim that the blade to his chest struck one of his ribs and would have likely been life-threatening if that were not the case.
Sepulveda faces charges of criminal mischief of $200 or less, robbery with a weapon and attempted first-degree murder with enhancement, records show. At his first appearance in court on Wednesday, Sepulveda was ordered to be held on $116,000 bond; $86,000 of the bond amount stemmed from the previously-mentioned charges while the other $30,000 is pursuant to charges of failing to report as a sex offender.
His arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 17.
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