BY DAN HILDEBRAN
A 21-year-old Keystone Heights man is behind bars on attempted murder charges after allegedly stabbing another man eight times during a downtown Gainesville brawl early Sunday morning.
Gainesville Police arrested Brandon Aaron Elijah Goodin at the scene in the 200 block of South Main Street around 2:30 a.m., moments after the victim collapsed with a punctured lung and severe blood loss.
According to Gainesville Police, the violence erupted when two separate groups, leaving a downtown bar at closing, continued a heated argument on the sidewalk. Goodin, who was not part of either group, inserted himself by taunting the victim.
When the victim shouted back, a multi-person fistfight broke out. As the victim defended himself against two of Goodin’s friends, Goodin allegedly circled to the victim’s blind side and plunged a knife into his torso eight times.
A responding officer arrived just as the victim hit the ground. Bleeding heavily, the victim pointed at Goodin and yelled, “He just stabbed me!” A friend who never lost sight of Goodin corroborated the account.
The officer ordered Goodin to the ground at gunpoint. As backup arrived, a bystander showed police cell phone video of Goodin tossing the knife to a woman, later identified as his sister, who initially refused to cooperate but eventually surrendered the weapon.
Witnesses told investigators the victim was unarmed and not facing Goodin when the stabbing occurred.
The victim was later reported to be in stable condition.
Goodin, who has two prior felony convictions and seven misdemeanors, all non-violent, in Clay County, remains held without bond.
In one felony case, Goodin pleaded to stealing the ATM card of his father’s girlfriend from her car and withdrawing $900 from an ATM inside a Circle K near Twin Lakes Park.
In a second case, he pleaded to stealing a credit card from a vehicle parked near Keystone Heights Elementary School and attempting a $6.33 purchase at the same Circle K. The purchase was declined, and based on the store video, the school resource officer at Keystone Heights Junior-Senior High School identified Goodin as the defendant, adding that she knew him because he had attended the school.
Goodin’s sister has not been charged.
