BISCAYNE PARK, Fla. — A man who claimed self-defense in the July 21 stabbing of a South Florida mail carrier has now been arrested.
Police took Valentino Jlil, 27, of northeast Miami-Dade, into custody on Monday afternoon on two felony charges in connection with the stabbing in Biscayne Park.
According to an arrest report from the Biscayne Park Police Department, Jlil became enraged after 60-year-old letter carrier Eugene Mason, on his route and driving his U.S. Postal Service truck, “inadvertently” made a right turn in front of his scooter near Northeast 10th Avenue and 118th Street.
Jlil went up to Mason “while aggressively flailing his hands and arms with his cell phone, yelling obscenities” at the mailman, police said.
Authorities said Mason drove his mail truck in front of a house at 11790 NE 10th Ave. to continue making deliveries when he noticed Jlil parked his scooter in front of his truck, obstructing him.
The report states Jlil stood in front of Mason’s truck and pointed his cellphone at him.
Police said Mason approached Jlil, who “pointed the cellular phone (in) (Mason’s) face and aggressively touched him in his chest area, battering him.”
“This action was intentional and unwelcome,” the report states. “(Mason) defended himself by grabbing (Jlil) by his shirt and (wrestling) him to the ground.”
Police said Mason then got up to de-escalate the confrontation and noticed blood coming from his chest and that he had been stabbed.
According to the report, when officers arrived, Jlil was holding the knife and had a cut on his right index finger.
Mason would later be taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Shocked neighbors, who described him as a beloved mailman, set up a GoFundMe page to help with his medical expenses.
Jlil would later speak with BPPD investigators at the agency’s headquarters Wednesday and walked out a free man at the time, claiming “I (stood) my ground” under Florida law. Investigators evidently disagreed.
The Italian-born Jlil appeared in Miami-Dade bond court on Tuesday alongside Coral Gables-based attorney Zac Rosenberg.
“You’re lucky they didn’t bring you to federal court,” Judge Mindy Glazer remarked.
Rosenberg made a “blanket argument” that there was no probable cause, but Glazer ordered that Jlil be held without bond after granting prosecutors’ motion for pre-trial detention.
“He admitted to stabbing the victim,” Glazer said before granting the motion. “It was a road rage incident. Unfortunately, we see those all too frequently here.”
Jlil is scheduled to face a judge, who will set a hearing on that motion, on Wednesday.
“You have a good attorney,” Glazer told Jlil. “Listen to what he tells you.”
As of Tuesday, Jlil was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
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