Career criminal identified as assailant who stabbed sleeping Deltona man

(Bank of America at 1241 E. Normandy Blvd, Image credit: Google Maps)

On April 15, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office with headquarters in DeLand, Florida, reported that a male suspect had been identified and arrested in the stabbing of a man that was sleeping on the ground outside a bank building in Deltona. 

On Friday, Volusia sheriff’s detectives arrested 54-year-old David Vazquez of Norwood Drive, Deltona, after identifying him with the help of surveillance video footage from the area of the incident.  The attack was reported around 2:12 a.m. on Saturday, April 8, outside the Bank of America located at 1241 E. Normandy Boulevard.

The victim, a 73-year-old man with no permanent address, was asleep near the bank’s entrance when he woke up to a masked man stabbing him. The victim sustained a stab wound to the chest and multiple defensive wounds to his hands and forearms as he grabbed the blade of the knife and fought off his attacker.

Responding deputies arrived within three minutes of the victim’s 911 call, worked to stop his bleeding, set up a perimeter around the area and deployed a K-9 unit to search for a suspect. The victim provided a description, telling detectives he was able to grab his assailant and wrestle him to the ground, causing the mask to briefly pull away from the suspect’s face. The suspect fled northbound from the bank following the stabbing.

The victim, who said he knew of no one who had any reason to attack him, was transported to an area hospital for further treatment of injuries that were significant but ultimately not life-threatening.

At the scene, the K-9 unit tracked north through a nearby Cumberland Farms gas station parking lot, where detectives later obtained video surveillance that captured a subject matching the description provided by the victim.

Detectives used that video and other footage to identify Vazquez as their suspect, who has a distinct walk/limp, and a suspect vehicle, a black 2012 Dodge Journey. On Friday, deputies located Vazquez driving that vehicle in Deltona and took him into custody on unrelated charges of failure of a convicted felon to properly register.

Deputies and detectives executed a search warrant at Vazquez’s address Friday evening and discovered a pair of blue jeans inside a washing machine. The jeans matched those worn by the suspect in the surveillance videos and were noticeably splattered with blood on both legs. Detectives also found a jacket, which was also seen in the videos, hanging in a closet with a large red stain on its front.

Also collected from the home were several knives and a beanie/ski mask.

Vazquez, who has a lengthy criminal history that includes 36 felony arrests, denied committing the attack. No specific motive has been determined, and no connection to the victim is known. However, Vazquez was described as often having sudden outbursts.  He was charged with attempted murder and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail with no bond.

(Source: Volusia Sheriff’s Office)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram