18-year-old accused of stabbing boy 6 times at park in Collier County

An 18-year-old was arrested in Collier County for stabbing a boy at Palm Springs Park earlier this month.

Collier County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call about an injured male at Circle K at 8600 Radio Lane. The caller said the victim had been hit in the back and was bleeding a lot.

The Circle K clerk was trying to stop the victim’s bleeding when investigators arrived at the scene. It was then they discovered the victim had at least six apparent stab wounds. The victim also had bruises on his left eye, and the victim’s mother also said later he had a ruptured eardrum.

The victim was eventually airlifted to the hospital, and his health status is unknown at this time.

Investigators learned he had been to Palm Springs Park, where he met Daniel Levi Jean-Denis, an acquaintance, for an unknown reason. At the time, the victim only knew the suspect by his first name, Daniel.

The victim said Jean-Denis picked him up and body-slammed him to the ground for an unknown reason. He said Jean-Denis walked away at one point, and when he returned, he began hitting or punching him in the back.

The victim did not realize at the time of the second attack he had been stabbed, and he did not see what he had been stabbed with. He did not have a cell phone, so he walked to the Circle K to call his mother.

Once investigators named Jean-Denis as the suspect, both the victim and a witness at the park prior to the stabbing both separately identified Jean-Denis as the suspect in a photo lineup shown to them.

CCSO found Jean-Denis at Lely High School Tuesday morning and arrested him.

Jean-Denis denied he wanted to kill the victim when he spoke to investigators.

He faces charges for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, battery, and aggravated child abuse.

He remains in custody at Collier County jail. A bond amount is expected to be set by a judge.