A 40-year-old Ocala man was arrested after stabbing a male victim in the back with a knife after a verbal altercation.
On Sunday, October 31, Ocala Police Department officers responded to Interfaith Emergency Services on 435 NW 2nd Street in reference to a stabbing.
The officers came in contact with a male victim who had sustained a stab wound to the right side of his back.
The victim was transported to Ocala Regional Medical Center for evaluation.
A female witness gave officers a description of a suspect, who was later identified as Robert Catron.
The witness told officers that she was being escorted by the victim when Catron approached them with a knife.
She watched Catron stab the victim in the back with a silver blade, and then Catron ran out of the area heading southbound.
Catron was located by officers in the 400 block of SW Fort King Street, and he was transported to a separate hospital for medical evaluation.
Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies were on the scene, and one of their K-9 officers assisted an OPD detective with locating a knife with a silver blade around ten feet away from a discarded backpack.
The detective went to ORMC and spoke with the victim who stated that there had been issues in the past with Caltron, and Caltron “takes advantage of women.”
According to the victim, he was escorting the female witness to the Racetrac on S Pine Avenue because she was afraid of Caltron.
The victim stated that Caltron approached them, and he told Caltron to leave them alone. Caltron had his hand in his left pocket and allegedly lunged toward the victim, and the victim responded by punching him in the face.
After the punch, he stated that Caltron pulled the knife out, swung at him, and struck his back.
The victim returned to the area around Interfaith and notified law enforcement.
The detective examined the wound on the victim’s back, and observed a one-inch puncture that was still actively bleeding.
After speaking with the victim, the detective arrived at AdventHealth Ocala and spoke with Catron. According to Catron, he was approached by the victim and words were exchanged before the victim punched him on the right side of the face.
Catron told the detective that after being punched, he pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim, though he denied lunging forward.
Catron was arrested around 2:00 a.m. on November 1 and transported to Marion County Jail.
He is currently being held on $25,000 bond and faces a felony charge for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
A court date has been scheduled on December 7 at 9:00 a.m., according to jail records.