Man accused in stabbing under bridge tells police he is homeless
FORT PIERCE — The man accused of stabbing a woman under the Royal Park Bridge last month told Fort Pierce police that he is homeless and he went into an unoccupied home so that he could take a shower, according to an arrest report.
D’Antoine Jackson remained in the St. Lucie County Jail on Tuesday — the day he turned 22 — following his May 3 arrest on a trespassing charge. Jackson faces extradition to Palm Beach County on charges of attempted murder and attempted robbery.
West Palm Beach Police alleged that he stabbed a 60-year-old woman in the chest the morning of April 8 on the underpass to the bridge.
The woman was on a Sunday morning bike ride along a popular stretch of Flagler Drive when Jackson grabbed her, tried to reach into her backpack, then stabbed her in the chest before running away, according to police.
“The guy was sitting there waiting, and he just jumped me,” the woman, who asked that she only be identified by her first name, Suzanne, told The Palm Beach Post last month. “He just came at me, just rammed me with his hand, grabbed my bike to stop me.”
Fort Pierce police arrested Jackson after a woman there called police to report that she heard someone inside a home that was being remodeled.
It was not clear how or why Jackson traveled to St. Lucie County, or if he has any ties to the area. St. Lucie County court records do not show any prior arrests for Jackson.
He reportedly told officers he let himself into the home after
noticing that the back door was unlocked.
In West Palm Beach, investigators linked him to the stabbing through DNA evidence on the victim’s backpack, police said Sunday.
Jackson has been arrested at least 11 times in Palm Beach County since 2012, including once by West Palm Beach police in January 2017 after a woman accused him of robbery by sudden snatching. Prosecutors decided not to pursue the charge.
Police records show that Jackson attended the Turning Points Academy, a behavioral intervention charter school in suburban West Palm Beach. A Palm Beach County School District spokeswoman said she could not confirm whether he attended the school, citing privacy laws.
It is the second time since the beginning of the year that a homeless person in West Palm Beach has been accused in a stabbing attack. Last month, officials formed a task force to address the issue of homelessness in the city.
In March, city police arrested 23-year-old Chad Sanjay Bailey, alleging that he stabbed a woman who was sitting outside a sushi restaurant on Clematis Street.
Bailey later told police he was angry about being picked on for being homeless. The case is scheduled to return to court in October, after a determination has been made on whether Bailey is competent to stand trial, records show.