CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A Coral Gables man who invited another man over to his home for sex nearly became a murder victim over the weekend after kicking his would-be lover out, according to police, leading to the suspect’s arrest on Tuesday.
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Giovanny Viera, 45, of Miami Gardens, is accused of stabbing the victim early Sunday morning.
According to an arrest report from the Coral Gables Police Department, the two met on an unspecified dating app and arranged the meetup at the victim’s home after moving the conversation over to WhatsApp.
Police said that when Viera showed up at around 4 a.m., he “was acting erratic and appeared to be intoxicated,” telling the victim he had taken “perico,” street slang for cocaine.
Authorities said the victim asked Viera to leave after being offered the cocaine. They said Viera then “became irate, refused to leave and then accused the victim of stealing his necklace.”
“The victim told him that he did not take his necklace and began to search his bed for it,“ a CGPD detective wrote in the report. ”At this point, (Viera) violently attacked him, slamming his head against the wall.”
Authorities said Viera then took out a “large” spring-loaded knife and “tried to stab the victim directly in the skull.”
Police said the victim avoided serious stab wounds but did sustain two lacerations.
“The victim, in severe fear for his life, began screaming for help and proceeded to lock himself in the en-suite bathroom,” the report states. “(Viera) attempted to force his way into the bathroom while the victim braced himself against the interior of the door while pleading and screaming for help from his roommates who were sleeping in an adjacent bedroom.”
Police said the victim’s roommates “began calling out for him, but stated that they were also in fear.”
Viera took off after hearing the man’s roommates, police said.
The victim was later treated at Coral Gables Hospital and required eight staples on the two stab wounds.
Authorities said Viera, along with his Hollywood-based attorney, Lindsay Chase, turned himself in at CGPD headquarters Tuesday.
Appearing in bond court Wednesday, Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer ordered that he be held without bond on an attempted second-degree murder charge.