Sanford police arrest
a man who they say fatally stabbed a 16-year-old high-school student during a planned drug deal.
Sanford police arrested a man late Tuesday who they say fatally stabbed a 16-year-old high school student Tuesday afternoon.
Justin Seale, who turned 20 Wednesday, faces a murder charge in the death of Kaleb Rabun, a Seminole High School student.
“It is heartbreaking to hear that a life was lost, and at such a young age,” Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said in a statement. “At 16, our young adults should be focused on enjoying high school, friends, family, and thinking about their future.”
Another teenager told police that he and Kaleb were planning to set up a drug deal with Seale and rob him, police said. Seale drove to the Stonebrook Apartments and Kaleb got into his car. A moment later, Kaleb stumbled out of the car with a knife wound in the upper left part of his chest, police said.
Police said they used the second teen’s phone records to trace the number and identify Seale. Officers found him in his Longwood home and arrested him. He declined to speak with detectives without a lawyer, police said.
“I plead the Fifth,” he said.
Seale was being held on no bond in the Seminole County jail. But a judge granted his request for bail Wednesday morning and set the amount at $15,000 after Seale’s lawyer, Larry Kowal, argued there was not enough initial information to charge him with first-degree murder.
“The reasons were it was a drug deal and (Seale) was a victim,” said Jeff Dowdy, head of the public defender’s office in Sanford. “They were planning on robbing our client.”
Prosecutors will decide what charge they’ll pursue in court.
Seminole High School has grief counselors available for students, school district spokesman Mike Lawrence said.
Detrick Quinn, a senior at Seminole High School, said Kaleb was cool and inviting.
The boys used to eat lunch together sometimes in middle school, and play video games like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty.
They’d grown apart over the years, and almost didn’t recognize each other in high school, said Quinn, 17.
But it was still a shock, he said, when other students talked about Kaleb’s death Wednesday.
“It was kind of like a ‘wow’ moment for me,” Quinn said.