Key West teen stabbed at a movie theater in dispute over earbuds, prosecutors say
An argument between two Key West High School students over borrowed earbuds led to a stabbing in the parking lot of the movie theater where both teens work, according to Monroe County prosecutors.
Now, one of the 17-year old boys remains in a Miami-Dade County hospital and the other in juvenile justice custody where he will be charged as an adult with premeditated attempted murder when he makes his first appearance before a judge Monday afternoon, said Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield.
“Absolutely. The 17year-old defendant will 100% be charged as an adult,” Mansfield told the Miami Herald.
The stabbing happened early Sunday morning in the parking lot of the Regal Cinema at 3338 N. Roosevelt Blvd., Key West police spokeswoman Alyson Crean said.
“He stands in the parking lot brandishing two steak knives, runs the kid down and starts stabbing him,” Mansfield told the Miami Herald.
The attacker pinned the other boy to the ground and stabbed him in the neck, abdomen and side,
Mansfield said.
Prosecutors said the stabbing resulted over a dispute over earbuds one boy borrowed from another and when they would be returned. The victim was getting off work when he was attacked and the other boy had worked the previous shift on Saturday, Mansfield said.
Officers arrived shortly before 1:30 a.m., and friends already took the victim to the hospital,
Crean said. Paramedics then took him to HCA Kendall Regional Hospital in stable condition, Crean said.
Officers found two steak knives and a puddle of blood at the scene, Crean said.
Mansfield said the knives were found near a storm drain. They had been wiped off, but not very well, said Mansfield, adding there was still blood on the blades when officers found them.
Detectives matched the knives to a set they found at the boy’s home, Mansfield said.
The Miami Herald is not naming the 17-year-old boy arrested because of his age. Crean said he was still at the parking lot when officers got to the theater. Both the suspect and victim are Key West High School students.
After processing three separate crime scenes, officers obtained a warrant for the teen’s arrest.
In addition to premeditated attempted murder, the boy also faces a count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, Crean said.