Man charged with attempted murder: Bicycle theft ended in stabbing, Melbourne police say

MELBOURNE, Florida. – A man arrested in Melbourne on Tuesday is accused of stabbing the owner of a bicycle he was trying to steal, police said.

Officers responded to the reported stabbing around 5 a.m. and searched for their suspect – Jonathan Sepulveda, 41 – but were initially unable to locate him. A witness tipped officers that Sepulveda was at an apartment in the 700 block of East Fee Avenue, where he was soon found under a blanket on the living room floor and arrested, according to an affidavit.

One of the officers was approached by a woman who lived in the home, the affidavit states. The woman allegedly said Sepulveda had just stabbed someone and told the officer where to find the knife under a nearby dumpster. She added her account of how he allegedly got the weapon and used it.

(She) shared that Jonathan entered the house shortly after 5:00 a.m. and (she) asked to give him a knife to “cut his belt.” (She) states that she tried to give Jonathan a large kitchen knife, but he said that wouldn't work. (She) states that (she) then gave him a blue folding pocket knife, which Jonathan kept and left the house. (She) stated that within 10 minutes, Jonathan returned to the house and excitedly stated, “I just stabbed that cracker!”

Affidavit of Jonathan Sepulveda regarding probable cause (excerpt)

Sepulveda placed the bloody knife on a kitchen counter when he returned to the apartment, and the woman, frightened, washed the knife and threw it under the dumpster, police said. There was no information about pending charges against the woman.

Officers later met the victim, who said he was sleeping on the sidewalk at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Waverly Place when Sepulveda tried to take his bike away from him. The victim had tied the bike to a chain link fence with a cloth belt and was leaning against it when he was awakened by Sepulveda, who pulled the bike away from him and then tried to ride away with a flat tire.

The victim and another man chased Sepulveda and caught up with him, at which point the victim grabbed a basket on the back of the bike, police said. Sepulveda allegedly told the victim he had a knife and was going to stab him, but the victim did not let go. Sepulveda then turned around and stabbed the victim first in the chest, then in a slashing motion from the victim's right elbow to his wrist before dismounting from the bike and smashing the front wheel in a fit of rage, according to the affidavit.

The victim was hospitalized due to a trauma alert, police said. Hospital staff allegedly told the victim that the blade in his chest had struck one of his ribs and would likely have been life-threatening if it had not.

Sepulveda is charged with criminal damage of $200 or less, robbery with a weapon and attempted first-degree murder with aggravated intent, records show. At his initial court appearance Wednesday, Sepulveda was sentenced to $116,000 bail, with $86,000 of the bail amount for the aforementioned charges and the other $30,000 for the charge of failing to report as a sex offender.

His arraignment is scheduled for September 17.

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