Marion County judge denies bail for former corrections officer accused in fatal stabbing
A Marion County judge on Monday morning denied a bond request by a former corrections officer charged with the fatal stabbing of a man earlier this year.
Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon told the defendant, Rudd Ronel Gelin, that her decision was based on the totality of the case and that she believes there's a substantial flight risk if he was given bail because of the length of time it took law enforcement officials to locate him.
Gelin's lawyer, James W. Smith, has a "stand your ground" hearing in the case scheduled for early next year. At one point during the hearing, a nurse attended to Gelin for an unspecified reason. Gelin was able to continue participating in the hearing.
If convicted, the 28-year-old faces a minimum of 20 years behind bars, and a maximum of life in prison, according to Assistant State Attorney Marissa Meyer.
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In late April, Ocala police officers were called to the 2300 block of Northwest Seventh Street in reference to a stabbing. The victim, 27-year-old Deangelo Laverne Williams of Ocala, was given life-saving measures by arriving officers and taken to local hospital where he died. Williams was stabbed once in the chest with a knife, officials said. Authorities said Williams and Gelin had been arguing over a woman.
Detective Denise Drake investigated the incident and, at the conclusion of her probe, submitted her information to the State Attorney's Office for review. Prosecutors decided to charge Gelin with second-degree murder and he was indicted by a grand jury in September.
Gelin was taken into custody at the Columbia Correctional Institution where he worked as a corrections officer in October. State officials said Gelin, who had worked as a corrections officer for more than two years, was terminated after his arrest.
Appearing by Zoom from the Marion County Jail, Gelin told the court that although he was born in Haiti, he's a U.S. citizen living in Gainesville, and that he also has family living in Gainesville. He said if he received bail, he would live in Ocala.
The man's brother and a female friend testified on Gelin's behalf.
Gelin's brother said he would post bond. The woman spoke about the night of the stabbing and said she was friendly with Gelin and Williams.
She said Williams showed up at her residence two or three times and wanted her to come outside. She said she never invited Williams to her residence and that Gelin was there when Williams arrived. Williams' presence was captured on her doorbell camera, she said.
Detective Drake told the court that the woman was not there when Williams was stabbed. She said Williams was outside talking to a man who lives close to the woman when Gelin arrived. Gelin approached Williams and the men had a physical altercation. Williams was stabbed.
The detective said when she interviewed the woman, she was told that Gelin was in her residence in a back bedroom. Drake said Gelin never came outside. Officers entered the woman's residence, where they found Gelin and the knife used in the stabbing. Gelin told the detective that Williams started the altercation and that the woman was a witness. Drake said the woman told her she was not there during the stabbing.
Based on Gelin's claim of self-defense, Drake said she wanted to do a follow-up interview, but was unsuccessful in locating him. She said she called Gelin's brother and asked him to tell his brother she wanted to talk to him. She said there was no response.
Drake said she contacted Lowell Correctional Institution, a women's prison located in northwest Marion County, to talk to Gelin. She said supervisors told her Gelin had not returned to work since the stabbing and that they thought he may be in Haiti.
Federal authorities were contacted to try and locate Gelin and, based on a tip, were eventually able to find him.
Meyer, the assistant state attorney, argued Gelin should remain at the jail because he had threatened to kill Williams, he approached the victim, Williams was unarmed during the altercation, and that Gelin is a flight risk.
The prosecutor said Gelin hid in the woman's residence even though he said the stabbing was self-defense. She said Gelin hid the knife and didn't call 911.
Smith, Gelin's attorney, countered that there was an altercation and that Gelin was forced to defend himself because of his injury. He said Gelin has no prior records, is a U.S. citizen, doesn't pose a flight risk, was working at the time of the stabbing and that the man's family will make sure that he appears at every court hearing.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Man accused of fatal stabbing in Marion County April 2023 denied bond
