MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A 38-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after authorities said he attacked a Marion County sheriff’s deputy with a knife outside a home in Dunnellon.
Heriberto Medina Marquez is charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, giving a false name to law enforcement and resisting without violence, according to an arrest affidavit from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called to the area of 11775 NW 10th Place around 5:45 p.m. after a report of a suspicious incident, the affidavit states. Body-worn camera video reviewed by detectives shows the deputy arriving in a marked patrol vehicle and being confronted almost immediately by a man holding a knife, investigators wrote.
Authorities say the suspect lunged toward the deputy’s torso and continued striking downward after the deputy fell to the ground. The deputy later pursued the man briefly into a wooded lot across the street before the suspect returned and eventually complied with commands to get on the ground as another deputy arrived, according to the affidavit.
Investigators said two folding knives were recovered at the scene and appeared to have suspected fresh blood. The deputy’s uniform shirt showed puncture marks in the chest and abdomen area, the report states.
A witness told detectives he recognized the suspect from childhood and described him as acting “manic” and odd earlier in the day, according to the affidavit.
During an interview after his arrest, the suspect invoked his right to remain silent but made spontaneous statements, including that he “should’ve killed” the deputy, investigators wrote.
Marquez was booked into the Marion County Jail and was listed with no bond, according to the affidavit.