A Deltona man was tracked down by Volusia detectives a week after he allegedly stabbed a 73-year-old homeless man multiple times while he was sleeping at a bank.
David Vazquez, 54, was arrested by Volusia County Sheriff’s Office detectives on Friday, April 14, after a weeklong investigation into the stabbing of a homeless man.
According to police, the attack was reported just after 2 a.m. on Saturday, April 8 outside of the Bank of America located at 1241 Normandy Boulevard.
The victim, who is 73 years old and has no permanent address, was asleep near the bank’s entrance when he was awoken by a masked man stabbing him.
During the ensuing scuffle, the victim was stabbed in his chest and on his hands and forearms as he tried to grab the blade and fight off the attacker. The victim was able to wrestle the attacker to the ground, causing the mask to briefly pull away from the suspect’s face. After his mask revealed his face, the suspect became startled and fled northbound.
The victim contacted law enforcement authorities, who were on the scene within a few minutes of receiving the call. Responding deputies worked to stop the victim’s bleeding and set up a perimeter around the area to search for the suspect.
The victim was transported to a local hospital with significant injuries. He told police that he didn’t know of anyone that would have a reason to attack him.
While police were investigating the scene, a K-9 unit tracked the suspect’s scent through a nearby gas station parking lot. Detectives later obtained video surveillance from the gas station that showed a suspect matching the description provided by the victim.
Detectives used that footage to identify the suspect, Vazquez, through a distinct walk/limp and his vehicle, a 2012 Dodge Journey.
On Friday, police located Vazquez driving the vehicle in Deltona and took him into custody on unrelated charges of failure to register as a convicted felon.
Detectives executed a search warrant at Vazquez’s address on Friday evening and found a pair of blue jeans inside a washing machine that were splattered with blood on both legs. Detectives also found a jacket that matched the jacket the suspect was wearing the video. The jacket had a large red stain on its front.
During their search, police also collected several knives and a beanie/ski mask from Vazquez’s house.
Vazquez denied committing the attack, but police say that he was described by others as “often having sudden outbursts.” He has an extensive criminal history that includes 36 felony arrests.
Vazquez is facing a charge of attempted murder and is currently incarcerated at the Volusia County Jail.