VERO BEACH — A 35-year-old man was arrested outside a bar after police said he slashed the face of another man who he thought tried to rape his girlfriend in mid-March.
The suspect – identified as Jasen Daniel Pooley – told police it was his intent “not to kill him, but to hurt him,” reports show. Pooley asked a bartender, “What would you do to someone that raped someone you know,” before walking outside the bar and unleashing the attack.
The victim, who had a cut from the top of his forehead down to his throat, had to have surgery, reports show. The victim also had a cut in his chest.
Jasen Pooley
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Vero Beach police arrested Pooley, of the 500 block of Conn Way, on a charge of attempted second-degree murder. Pooley was held Tuesday at the Indian River County Jail without bond.
Police were called to The Stamp Bar shortly after 9 p.m. Monday for reports of a stabbing. The bar is located at 2015 13th Avenue.
Police spoke with Pooley, who was carrying a blade inside a sheath in his right hand. Pooley said he was at the bar earlier when the other man, who he knows, walked inside and asked him if he wanted to smoke marijuana.
Pooley, the man and the man’s friends went outside behind the bar. Then, while the three were smoking, Pooley pulled out the blade and asked the man if he wanted to fight.
Pooley said he sliced the man with a Japanese sushi knife after the man swung at him, reports show. Several witnesses said Pooley chased the man into the bar and said, “I am gonna (expletive) kill him,” reports show.
The man was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce with serious injuries.
Police spoke with Pooley’s girlfriend, who said the victim tried to rape her in a previous incident. The girlfriend reported the incident to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, but did not want to pursue anything further with the investigation, reports show.
Pooley had a first appearance in court Tuesday morning. Pooley has an arraignment at 8:45 a.m. May 10, court records show.