A 19-year-old man is facing an attempted second-degree murder charge after Sarasota County deputies say he stabbed another man outside a home on Lahaina Drive, then barricaded himself inside and had to be pulled out with pepper balls and a police dog. The victim lost consciousness and needed CPR before being rushed into emergency surgery.
The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office says deputies responded to a reported stabbing at a residence in the 5100 block of Lahaina Drive shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday and found the victim in front of the home with stab wounds and, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, “a significant amount of blood loss.” As deputies assessed him, the victim lost consciousness, prompting first responders to begin CPR before he was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital for emergency surgery, according to the sheriff's office.
Deputies identified 19-year-old Yordi David Lopez Fuentes as the suspect, but getting him out of the house wasn't simple. The sheriff's office says he refused to exit the residence even after deputies gave him lawful commands to come out, forcing deputies to use less-lethal pepper-ball munitions along with a K9 unit to take him into custody, per the same agency's account.
Charges and an ICE Hold Follow the Arrest
Lopez Fuentes was charged with attempted second-degree murder and booked into the Sarasota County Correctional Facility, where he is now being held on an ICE detainer, the sheriff's office said. Authorities added that his identity has not yet been confirmed with official government identification from either Guatemala or the United States, according to the sheriff's office.
As of Monday, no further details on the victim's condition had been released, according to WFLA, which first reported the arrest.
Court Records Detail Alleged Argument Before the Stabbing
Additional details about what led up to the attack come from court records cited by Cedar News, which reports that Lopez Fuentes and the victim got into an argument, then took off their belts and hit each other with them. A woman told deputies that Lopez Fuentes had looked through kitchen drawers and said he was going to kill the victim, according to the outlet's account of the court records.
No trial date or plea has been reported in connection with the attempted second-degree murder charge, and the investigation into the stabbing remains active.
