MIAMI – A 61-year-old man was behind bars on Friday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center accused of stabbing a friend who had been helping him in Miami, police said.
Ronald Vital and the victim told Miami police officers that they had known each other for years and they had a disagreement Wednesday while at Ben Photo in Little Haiti, according to police.
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“I am going to kill you today,” Vital told the victim, according to a police arrest report.
The victim told police he had been allowing Vital to stay at Ben Photo, along Northeast 54 Street, near Second Avenue, for about a month, and the argument started after he told him to keep his clutter under control, according to police.
The stabbing happened later while the victim was helping a customer on Wednesday night, police said. Vital allegedly used fabric to cover the knife he used to stab his friend in the left forearm and abdomen, according to police.
Vital later told a police officer that he was mad at his friend for slapping him in the face during an argument over identifications that he couldn’t find, according to police. Fire rescue personnel took the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center and police officers arrested Vital on Thursday morning, according to the report.
Court records show Miami-Dade prosecutors filed the felony case against Vital on Friday for attempted murder causing injury, and aggravated battery on a person who is 65 years old or older. Vital’s defense filed his written plea of not guilty. Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Poole is set to preside over the case.