Florida – A Florida man, 36-year-old J. GayIe, was ordered to serve more than a decade in prison for a vioIent stabbing attack that took place at a Florida store in two years ago. The sentence was handed down after the defendant pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a deadIy weapon, in connection with the unprovoked assauIt on a fellow customer who reportedly crticized the behavior of his chiIdren while they were waiting in line at the store. After the attack, the defendant fled from Florida to New York.
According to court documents and the Florida authorities, the incident began with a verbal altercation between the victim and the defendant after she allegedly made a comment about his chiIdren being Ioud and unruIy. According to the affidavit and surveillance footage, the altercation began when the victim became involved in a dispute with the defendant’s former spouse. The two women exchanged words, which escalated into a physical confrontation. The defendants’s then-wife was seen pushing the victim, who then pushed her back.
At that point, the defendant approached the victim. As she turned toward him, the two made physical contact, with the victim reportedly bumping into the man. The situation quickly escalated further. In response, the defendant struck the woman with a metal pan and then began stabbing her multiple times with a large blade, which he had taken from a store shelf and removed from its packaging. As the victim stepped back, the man slashed her several times with the knife, along her abdomen..
The woman sustained life-threatening injuries during the attack and, despite her condition, managed to follow the family into the parking lot in an effort to photograph the license plate of their vehicle. According to the affidavit, the defendant, still holding the knife, threatened the woman once more before fleeing the scene with his family. “The victim was bIeeding heaviIy from wounds to her abdomen and head,” the affidavit stated.
She was later airlifted to a nearby hospital, where she underwent emergency treatment that ultimately saved her life, prosecutors confirmed. Authorities used surveillance footage from the supermarket to identify the suspect’s vehicle. With assistance from nearby license plate readers, deputies from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office were able to track the car to Gayle’s residence and confirm his identity.
The victim, a 40-year-old woman whose name has not been released to the public, told investigators that she had only made a brief remark about the disruptive behavior of the defendant’s children. She said she had turned to face the counter when the man suddenly lunged at her. Bystanders quickly intervened, pulling the defendant away and administering first aid to the woman until emergency responders arrived.
The investigation included reviewing surveillance footage, interviewing witnesses, and collecting physical evidence, including the bloodied knife used in the attack. Prosecutors noted that the defendant showed no remorse during initial questioning but later entered a guilty plea as part of a negotiated sentence.
The victim, who spent weeks recovering from her injuries, later said in a statement that the attack was terrifying and unprovoked. She thanked store staff and witnesses for saving her life and said she hoped the sentencing would bring some measure of accountability.