A 37-year-old man was arrested by DeLand police on Monday afternoon after he allegedly stabbed another man in the back over a bike theft that had occurred the previous night.
Shortly after 8 a.m. on Monday, October 6, DeLand Police Department officers and Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the 700 block of S Palmetto Avenue in DeLand in reference to a stabbing incident, according to DPD.
Upon arrival, law enforcement officers found a 29-year-old Black male victim who had sustained two stab wounds to the back. He was airlifted to a local hospital as a trauma alert.
DPD stated that the suspect in this case – later identified as DeLand resident Cornell Maxwell – fled from the incident location on foot prior to the arrival of law enforcement. This prompted a shelter-in-place order to be issued for the surrounding neighborhood, and a nearby elementary school was also placed on lockdown.
Investigators determined that Maxwell and the victim knew each other and are both “local transients.” In addition, DPD stated that the altercation between both individuals “stemmed from an incident the previous night, in which the victim allegedly stole (Maxwell’s) bicycle.”
Maxwell allegedly searched for the victim throughout the night. When Maxwell found the victim the following morning at the Palmetto Avenue address, a physical altercation ensued, and witnesses told investigators that Maxwell “stabbed the victim.”
At around 2:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon, law enforcement officers located Maxwell in DeLand, and he was placed under arrest without further incident.
No further details were released by law enforcement.