A Central Florida man stabbed his victim in the back in an aggravated battery attack after a situation escalated.
A jury delivered a guilty verdict in the Lake County case against 51-year-old Cesario Bastian, who was charged with Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon after his 2022 arrest by the Leesburg Police Department.
“This case is another example of the diligent efforts of our law enforcement partners,” said Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson. “The efforts of the Leesburg Police Department laid the foundation for our office to prosecute the case and obtain a favorable verdict.”
On July 4, 2022, officers with the LPD responded to a home in reference to a victim who was stabbed. When officials arrived on scene, they located the victim who had an apparent laceration to the top left area of their back. Emergency medical services staff arrived to render aid.
A witness on scene relayed to law enforcement that the incident took place further down the apartment complex, with the victim returning back to the residence with the injury. Upon returning, the victim told the witness they were stabbed by an individual who goes by the name “El Muneco,” later identified as Bastian.
Officials spoke with the victim, who stated that while outside barbequing with family, an acquaintance had discussed going to buy fireworks to celebrate. The victim then left with the acquaintance to walk a few apartments down, where the victim sat outside waiting for the acquaintance to exit the home to go purchase fireworks.
The victim had sat beside Bastian and his friend. While sitting outside, the victim became the target of verbal insults by Bastian’s friend, who was heavily intoxicated.
Before the victim could get up and leave the scene to de-escalate the situation, Bastian stood behind the victim and subsequently stabbed them.
Realizing what occurred, the victim advised they ran back to their home and asked another individual to call 9-1-1.
After obtaining witness statements and reviewing the evidence from the investigation, enough probable cause was established for the arrest of Bastian. On August 20, 2022, detectives were able to locate Bastian and take him into custody for the stabbing incident.
This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Steven Miller.
