Background: Joseph McDonald of Deltona, Florida appears with hands above his head as the Volusia Sheriff’s Office arrests him. Screengrab Facebook video post of arrest provided by Volusia Sheriff’s Office. Inset: Photo of Joseph McDonald provided by Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
Furious because two men who arrived at his home to smoke marijuana with his brother wouldn’t let him take a toke too, police say a Florida man stabbed one of the visitors to death before fleeing the scene and hiding in bushes to evade police.
Joseph McDonald, 31, was at home on Sunday when his alleged victim and another individual who would witness the crime arrived at McDonald’s home to smoke weed, police said. McDonald allegedly let them into the house, but they weren’t there to socialize with him.
Instead, the victim, whose identity was not released by the police as of Monday, was looking for McDonald’s brother, local Fox affiliate WOFL reported. The witness reportedly told police an argument broke out when McDonald got upset because he was skipped over in the smoke session and things escalated quickly and fatally.
When police were initially called to the area, they thought there was a shooting but quickly learned it was actually a stabbing, according to a statement on Facebook detailing the alleged offense and arrest by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
Officers located McDonald on Sunday just a few hours after the 21-year-old victim had emerged from McDonald’s home with an “obvious injury to his abdomen” and the witness tried to help before calling 911.
When the victim was asked who was responsible for his injuries, he “pointed back at the house but was unable to provide more details,” the police announcement of McDonald’s arrest stated.
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The victim was rushed to a hospital in Deltona but did not survive.
In video footage of the dramatic bust posted on Facebook by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday, police are seen surrounding McDonald once he is spotted around 1 p.m. With K-9 units in tow and police helicopters flying overhead, McDonald was located in brush roughly three miles from the alleged murder.
His hand was visibly bleeding and wrapped in a rag-like material. Police said they transported McDonald to a hospital in Sanford for medical care and that officials there agreed his hand looked lacerated by a sharp object.
Volusia Sheriff’s Office aerial footage of the arrest of Joseph McDonald of Deltona, Florida. Screengrab Facebook video post of arrest provided by Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
McDonald had only lived at the residence for a couple of months before the incident and police were informed he “had been experiencing mental illness for several years.”
Police confirmed Monday that McDonald is being held without bond at the jail in Volusia County and is facing a charge of first-degree murder.
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