Walter Grimes slashed a friend by using a samurai sword, police said. Cops released this image as part of the wanted poster. (Image: Daytona Beach Police Department)
A man grabbed a nearby samurai sword and slashed his friend for refusing to give him an Xbox, say police in Daytona Beach, Florida. Officers said they were not able to find Walter Grimes, 25, at the scene and have put out a wanted poster for his arrest. Though they said they found a sword at the scene of the crime, police warn he could be armed with a knife.
Grimes had become homeless and was upset about having to walk with his belongings, the victim told cops in documents viewed by Law&Crime.
He allegedly stopped at the victim’s place to hang out. Sitting on the man’s couch, Grimes allegedly asked if the man was going to give him his Xbox.
“V-1 stated that he was not going to do that,” police wrote of the victim.
Grimes allegedly then grabbed a samurai sword that was in the apartment and struck the victim on the left side of the man’s face, upper shoulder, and right knuckle.
Police noted that Grimes did not “say anything threatening” to the victim during the altercation.
Grimes left, fleeing in an unknown direction, they wrote.
Police said they spoke to a neighbor who said she had been outside to smoke a cigarette at the time of the confrontation.
She heard screaming and saw the victim screaming covered in blood.
“Walter stabbed me,” the victim told the neighbor.
She said she did not see Grimes at the scene and was not sure about the direction he fled, documents said.
Medical staff noted the man’s injuries were not life threatening, though police noted an approximately three-inch laceration to his left cheek, an approximately two-inch laceration to his left shoulder, and a small laceration to his right knuckle.
Officers described finding a black and white samurai sword on the ground in front of the apartment. Blood covered the floor of the entrance as well as the living room carpet.
Grimes now faces a count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Records show that he was previously charged with battery and criminal mischief above $200 but below $1,000 for allegedly punching his husband and also striking the spouse’s vehicles. For example, the defendant rammed his own head into the work vehicle, authorities said.
Walter Grimes in a Nov. 8, 2020, mug shot for allegedly punching his husband. (via Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
The state dropped that case in March 2021 as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. It appears that the victim in the new case is a different man. Though he invoked Marsy’s law for privacy, documents do note that the victim told authorities he and Grimes were never in a romantic relationship nor cohabitated.
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