Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/260020
The Saraso ta County Sheriff 's Office has arrested 13-year-old Damien Reel of Englewood for Attempted Murder in the First Degree for a random attack on Feb. 11, the department has announced. The victim, Michael A. Baskind, 54, also of Englewood, was jogging near Lemon Avenue and Bayshore Drive in Englewood around 5:40 p.m. when a teen wearing a red hooded sweatshirt ran up behind him, grabbed him by the left shoulder and slashed his neck with a sharp object, according to the report. Baskind realized the teen was following him shortly after Baskind passed him on the road, the report points out. After he was cut, Baskind elbowed Damien, knocking him to the ground, the report continues. When the youth got up and ran, Baskind tried to pursue him, but the teen threw a 15-inch bread knife at Baskind and fled, a news release says. Baskind asked a neighbor to call for medical help and law enforcement, the report adds. He suffered a "serious laceration [about 6 inches long] to the lower right side of his neck," according to the report, which added that it took 14 stitches to close the wound. He was treated at Venice Regional Bayfront Health and released, a news release says. Baskind told officers he had seen the youth in the neighborhood several times over the years, watching him grow up from a toddler. He provided deputies with a description of Damien's parents, as well as information about the area in which they live, according to the report. An aerial view shows the area of Lemon Avenue and Bayshore Drive in Englewood. Image from Google Maps ENGLEWOOD TEEN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER CRIME BLOTTER