Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the early hours today, 21-year-old Brandon Aaron Elijah Goodin was taken into custody and charged with attempted murder following an incident where a man was stabbed eight times.
The incident occurred around 2:22 a.m. on October 26, as detailed by the Gainesville Police Department. A disagreement erupted between the victim and two friends with another group inside a downtown venue. After leaving the venue at closing time, the groups continued their altercation while walking down the same path, eventually reaching the 200 block of South Main Street.
Goodin, along with his friends, was in the vicinity of the 200 block of South Main Street, separate from the feuding groups. He reportedly began taunting the victim and his companions. The victim, frustrated by Goodin’s unsolicited comments, retaliated verbally, asserting that Goodin was meddling without understanding the situation.
The situation escalated into a physical confrontation involving all parties, with several fistfights breaking out. During this chaos, Goodin and two of his associates engaged directly with the victim. While the victim was preoccupied defending himself against Goodin’s friends, Goodin allegedly took the opportunity to strike, stabbing the victim multiple times in the torso.
A Gainesville Police officer arrived promptly as the victim collapsed. The officer noted that the victim identified Goodin as the assailant, exclaiming, “He just stabbed me!” Additionally, one of the victim’s friends corroborated this, pointing to Goodin as the attacker.
The officer reported that Goodin seemed like he was about to run, but he decided not to. The officer held Goodin at gunpoint until he got into a prone position and then waited for backup officers to arrive and secure him in handcuffs.
While the officer was waiting for backup officers to arrive, a bystander showed him video of Goodin tossing the knife on the ground to a woman who turned out to be Goodin’s sister. Officers later contacted Goodin’s sister and recovered the knife.
One of the victim’s friends said he never lost sight of Goodin from the time of the stabbing until the officers handcuffed him, and he said he had seen Goodin pulling the knife out of the victim’s chest.
Witness accounts indicated that the victim was not armed and did not present a threat to Goodin at the time of the stabbing.
Another witness said he did not participate in the fight, and he said he saw the victim fighting with two of Goodin’s friends when Goodin came up from the victim’s right side and stabbed the victim. This witness said the victim was not even looking toward Goodin when Goodin stabbed him.
The officer reported that Goodin’s sister was initially uncooperative, but she eventually produced the knife and said she had been worried about what would happen to her brother. She also reportedly said she never saw the victim with any weapons before Goodin stabbed him.
The officer reported that medical personnel said the victim was stabbed eight times, suffered a punctured lung, and lost a great deal of blood. At the time of the report, the victim was in stable condition.
Goodin has been charged with attempted homicide. He has two adult felony convictions (non-violent) and seven misdemeanor convictions (non-violent) in Clay County. A judge will decide tomorrow whether to set bail or hold him until trial.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
