A Melrose man literally had blood on his hands when he was arrested for allegedly stabbing a man in his former girlfriend’s backyard in Citra.
Lloyd Hoke Derrick Jr., 34, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after the incident, which happened around 6 p.m. Nov. 26 outside a residence on NE 22nd Court. He’s being held in the Marion County Jail on $10,000 bond.
A witness told a Marion County Sheriff’s deputy he saw a white Mitsubishi Lancer pull up to the incident location at a high speed. He said a man, later identified as Derrick, got out of the vehicle and got into a physical fight with the victim, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The witness said he heard the victim yell, “He stabbed me,” and when he went over to the victim, he saw he was stabbed in the abdomen. The witness said he saw the vehicle at the residence the previous three days and he only knows Derrick as Stephanie Orlando’s ex-boyfriend, the report said.
The victim said he didn’t know the identity of the man who stabbed him. He said Orlando is his neighbor and he was in her back yard when a white vehicle sped into the yard and the man got out and began to tussle with him. The victim said the man then stabbed him and left the location, according to the report.
The deputy observed the victim had a deep laceration that Marion County Fire Rescue medics confirmed was through the abdominal wall. The wound was in a half-moon shape. The victim was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center for treatment, the report said.
Another deputy pulled over the white Lancer on 175th Street Road and made contact with Derrick. The deputy observed Derrick had blood on his hands. The deputy said prior to stopping, Derrick threw an object out the window. The object was located and determined to be a silver pocketknife, according to the report.
The witness identified Derrick as the man who committed the stabbing. Other deputies also observed he had blood on his hands, according to the report.
Derrick was arrested without incident. He’s scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on Dec. 23.