Prosecutors Intend to Hold High-Schooler Charged with Stabbing Without Bond
Update Oct 18: This article was updated to reflect the filing of the pretrial detention motion.
An 18-year-old senior at Santa Fe High School (SFHS), David Teague, was arrested on Tuesday for stabbing another student.
The State Attorney’s Office has filed a motion of pretrial detention in an attempt to keep Teague in jail without bond, court records show.
Alachua Police Department School Resource Officer Arthur Gordon reported the following:
“At approximately 12:21 pm, the victim and the defendant were standing outside in the courtyard during lunch at SFHS involved in a verbal altercation. The defendant ran toward the victim at this time, and the victim threw an unknown liquid toward the defendant. The two then engaged in a physical altercation.
During the physical altercation, the defendant removed a five-inch pocket knife from his back pocket with his right hand. The defendant then stabbed the victim several times in his back area before they could be separated by bystanders. The victim was taken to the school nurse to wait for EMS to respond. I took the defendant into custody and relocated him to my office, which is located in the front office of the school, to wait on additional patrol units to arrive.
This incident occurred among approximately 550 students and placed the school on lockdown.
Post-Miranda, the defendant admitted to retrieving the knife from his pocket and stabbing him multiple times. The incident was captured on video surveillance. The victim was transported under a trauma alert and listed as critical at Shands hospital.”
The pretrial detention motion reveals more information about the incident, with prosecutors stating:
"The victim did not know the defendant. The defendant had gotten into an argument with a friend of the victim the day before. The victim threw a liquid at the defendant who was coming toward him after the verbal confrontiation. A physical fight began when the defendant, after passing the victim and having the liquid thrown did stop, turn, and drop his backpack. The defendant began to lose that physical fight [and] he removed a 5 inch pocket knife from his rear pocket and stabbed the [victim] in the back several times. The victim was taken to Shands and was in critical condition. Other students had to separate the defendant from the victim and the school was placed in lock downi.
The victim was stabbed near his vital organs but, none were damaged. He has received multiple stiches.
The defendant has exhibited disturbing and concerning behaviors over several years.
This incident was captured on the school video system and shows the incident in full. Per law enforcement, the defendant was the aggressor."
Teague’s pretrial detention will be overseen by Judge Robert Groeb on Monday, October 20. Teague faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, possessing a weapon on school property and disturbing the peace by interfering with school administration.
