John Jefferson
Top inset: Matt Marino (WJXT). Bottom inset: Arieana Gibbs (St. Augustine Police Department). Background: The suspect accused in two random attacks in Florida is seen riding a bicycle, police said (St. Augustine Police Department).
A Florida woman is accused of riding her bicycle up to a priest who was having a cup of coffee and stabbing him in the chest just minutes after flashing a knife at a McDonald’s employee — and not long after she had been released from jail for a battery conviction.
Arieana Gibbs, 22, faces charges of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and felony battery in the attack that hospitalized Trinity Parish Father Matt Marino, the rector of Trinity Parish St. Augustine.
The attack happened on Wednesday at 8 a.m. at 48 San Marco and 1106 N. Ponce De Leon Blvd. in downtown St. Augustine, on the Pacific coast south of Jacksonville, according to the arrest report outlining the allegations. The violence started that day when the defendant was at McDonald’s, standing by the soda machines, court documents said. A McDonald’s worker went near the soda machine where the defendant was standing, the arrest report said. The defendant turned toward the employee and said, “can you help me with something,” and then grabbed their arm and pulled out a kitchen knife, according to the document.
The McDonald’s victim pulled her arm back and got away as the suspect, wearing an orange long-sleeve top, tie-dye pants and a black backpack, rode off on a black bicycle, the St. Augustine Police Department said.
About five minutes later, Gibbs allegedly stopped on her bicycle at the Juniper Market at 48 San Marco Avenue and approached two men sitting at a table outside talking. She went to one patron and said, “excuse me,” before lunging and stabbing him under his collarbone, the arrest report said.
That victim — later identified as Marino — and his friend reportedly fought off the attacker before she got back on her bicycle and rode off. The two men kicked at the bike and tried to stop her from leaving.
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Marino was reported in stable condition as of Friday, although not without injury. He suffered a collapsed lung with internal bleeding, the arrest report said. The report credited the lifesaving efforts by emergency medical technicians at the scene.
Witnesses recalled the terrifying ordeal. Marino was wearing his formal pastor attire when the suspect rode past him, said Theo Glory, the owner of a café across the street.
“He was like stone cold flat on the floor,” Glory told the St. Johns Citizen. “The good Samaritans around him put a jacket on him and waited for the emergency vehicles. Within minutes, we had six, seven police cars, fire trucks. And they did their job.”
In a statement, the Episcopal Diocese of Florida credited the paramedics and law enforcement officers who cared for Marino, as well as the doctors and nurses who are currently caring for him.
“We are actively monitoring the situation and will provide updates as they become available. Please keep Fr. Matt, his family, and the entire Trinity St. Augustine community in your prayers,” the statement said.
Police said a witness got a photo of Gibbs, who is said to have left her cellphone at the crime scene. She was arrested that day and allegedly had the knife used in both attacks, court documents said. She is being held at the St. Johns County Jail without bond, booking records show.
In a motion for pretrial detention, prosecutors said Gibbs perpetrated two random attacks on two unarmed citizens in St. Johns County and noted she had recently been convicted of battery in the same county.
In that case, Gibbs allegedly pushed, slapped, and threw a can of yams on Aug. 11 at a man she was in a relationship with. They were arguing over their relationship and “household problems,” court documents said. The man shielded his face with his hand, deflecting the can and was not seriously hurt, but the argument escalated, court documents said.
She grabbed a knife when they were arguing “to try and scare him into stopping the argument because her 3-year-old was in the other room,” court documents said.
She was sentenced in that case to 28 days in jail and got credit for time served, the online court docket shows.
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