Throat Slit In Gang Colors Dispute At Disney-Area Restaurant
POSTED: 6:39 am EDT October 17, 2006
UPDATED: 3:28 pm EDT October 17, 2006
<!--startindex-->ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A night manager at a popular Disney-area restaurant may have saved a man's life. When a fight escalated into a knife attack at Jungle Jim's, the manager came in with medical aide and quick thinking.
Deputies said a dispute over gang colors and how one man was dressed sparked the fight. It was an argument that nearly ended in murder. Deputies said they had not seen anything like it at the fun, themed-restaurant that caters to Disney vacationers.
Lately, on Monday nights, a lot of the clientele comes in from nearby Kissimmee for a night out, and that was no exception October 16 when a fight broke out and a work tool became a weapon.
"One man, an Hispanic male, produced a box cutter and slashed the victim's throat, causing life-threatening injuries," said Cmdr. Bruce McMullen, Orange County Sheriff's Office.
"I'm not surprised with the way he handled it. He did a great job considering the chaos that was going on," said Jungle Jim's VP Travis Hillpot.
On the busy nights, Jungle Jim's hires four off-duty sheriff's deputies to help with traffic and security. They chased and caught the suspect, 19-year-old John Feliciano, who they said was still carrying the box cutters used in the attack.
Feliciano's past arrest record includes drug and concealed weapons offenses out of Osceola County.
With the bloodstains cleaned up, Jungle Jim's staff said they'll meet to decide if it's still worth opening on Monday nights.
Feliciano was charged with attempted murder and was booked into the Orange County jail.<!--stopindex-->
POSTED: 6:39 am EDT October 17, 2006
UPDATED: 3:28 pm EDT October 17, 2006
<!--startindex-->ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A night manager at a popular Disney-area restaurant may have saved a man's life. When a fight escalated into a knife attack at Jungle Jim's, the manager came in with medical aide and quick thinking.
Deputies said a dispute over gang colors and how one man was dressed sparked the fight. It was an argument that nearly ended in murder. Deputies said they had not seen anything like it at the fun, themed-restaurant that caters to Disney vacationers.
Lately, on Monday nights, a lot of the clientele comes in from nearby Kissimmee for a night out, and that was no exception October 16 when a fight broke out and a work tool became a weapon.
"One man, an Hispanic male, produced a box cutter and slashed the victim's throat, causing life-threatening injuries," said Cmdr. Bruce McMullen, Orange County Sheriff's Office.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The victim, 25-year-old Cory Swift, was recovering Tuesday at a local hospital, and he might not have made it there at all except for the quick actions of the night manager:
When the night manager saw one of his patrons on the ground bleeding, he actually took of his own shirt and put it on the man's neck to staunch the bleeding until help arrived. <FORM action=http://treets.wftv.com/services/subscribe_noconf.cfm method=post><INPUT type=hidden value=orlc name=sitekey> </INPUT><INPUT type=checkbox CHECKED value=orlc_9am_HTML name=dlist>9 a.m. Headlines
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The victim, 25-year-old Cory Swift, was recovering Tuesday at a local hospital, and he might not have made it there at all except for the quick actions of the night manager:
"I'm not surprised with the way he handled it. He did a great job considering the chaos that was going on," said Jungle Jim's VP Travis Hillpot.
On the busy nights, Jungle Jim's hires four off-duty sheriff's deputies to help with traffic and security. They chased and caught the suspect, 19-year-old John Feliciano, who they said was still carrying the box cutters used in the attack.
Feliciano's past arrest record includes drug and concealed weapons offenses out of Osceola County.
With the bloodstains cleaned up, Jungle Jim's staff said they'll meet to decide if it's still worth opening on Monday nights.
Feliciano was charged with attempted murder and was booked into the Orange County jail.<!--stopindex-->
