HAINES CITY, Fla. — A 35-year-old Haines City man accused of publicly attacking his ex-girlfriend before beating another man who tried to stop him was arrested, the Polk County Sheriff's Office explains.
Jose Chaidez, who authorities have been looking for since Saturday, was found and taken into custody in Lake County, according to a news release.
He's being booked into the Lake County Jail but will be sent back to Polk County at a later time.
Chaidez is being charged with attempted second-degree murder, armed burglary with battery, burglary with battery, criminal mischief and stalking.
"The charges are the result of Chaidez's violent attacks on two people in a Haines City store on Saturday," the sheriff's office explains in the release.
The attacks happened shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the J and S Food Mart in Haines City.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office released a statement, including a video, of the attacks. They say the suspect, Jose Chaidez of Haines City, threatened the woman with a butcher knife. Then, he slapped her with the knife, hit her and pulled her by the hair.
One man stepped in and tried to stop Chaidez from beating the woman and taking her out of the store, but Chaidez overpowered him, knocking him to the floor and punching him in the head repeatedly.
Chaidez then fought with and hit another bystander, leaving the store before deputies and medical teams arrived. The second bystander was not seriously hurt and left before deputies could identify or interview him.
The man Chaidez beat up was hospitalized and was still in critical condition as of Tuesday, but deputies say he's improving, and they expect he'll recover.