PALM COAST, Fla. — A Palm Coast man was arrested Wednesday after the Flagler County Sheriff's Office said he stabbed a man in the B Section and fled in his Jeep.
Deputies said Eric Galdabini, 56, had driven past a woman walking several yards behind a man. Galdabini asked the woman to get into his car while circling the area several times and she refused. On the last attempt, police said, the couple told Galdabini to leave them alone, but he parked his vehicle on the shoulder and sprinted towards them with closed fists.
An altercation ensued between the two men and Galdabini pulled out a knife and slashed the victim several times and attempted to chase him, before returning to his vehicle and fleeing. The victim's wounds were non life-threatening.
Deputies conducted a high-risk traffic stop at Belle Terre and Pine Lakes parkways, the sheriff's office said.
According to the sheriff's office, Galdabini provided conflicting statements about the altercation and told deputies the knife used in the attack was still in his vehicle. Surveillance video from nearby homes verified the victim’s account and Galdabini was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Galdabini was held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on $40,000 bond.
“Typically, when we receive a call of this nature, the victim is an acquaintance or knows their attacker in some way. In this case, the attack was completely random,” FCSO Sheriff Rick Staly said in a press release.
