Fight leads to stabbing outside Waterfront Giant Eagle

A jitney driver is accused of stabbing another man outside the Waterfront Giant Eagle, leaving the man with eight wounds, including one stab wound to his head, according to court documents.

Homestead Police responded to the grocery store about 9:30 a.m. Friday for a report of a fight followed by a stabbing. They arrived and found the victim inside near the service desk, bleeding from the face.

The man said he’d been stabbed by a local jitney driver who drives a brown Kia SUV for the Ann Street jitney stand, according to police. A witness identified the suspect as 45-year-old Robert Rochelle of Dravosburg.

Security cameras at the store captured the stabbing and the moments leading up to it, according to the complaint. Footage showed the victim waiting outside the store’s exit when a tan Kia SUV pulled up and stopped; a man later identified as Rochelle got out, police said.

Police wrote that the two exchanged words, with the victim “appearing to be very agitated and animated in his behavior.” Rochelle can be seen reaching into his pocket and pulling out a suspected knife, at which point he is seen charging at the victim, police said. The two grappled, and Rochelle stabbed the man several times before he broke free and ran inside.

Rochelle chased the victim to the service desk before taking off in the Kia, according to the complaint. Records linked the license plate back to Rochelle, police wrote.

The victim ultimately suffered eight stab wounds to his face, chest, shoulders and head, police said. None were considered life-threatening.

A little over an hour later, Rochelle called police to report that someone threatened him at the Waterfront Giant Eagle, according to the complaint. Rochelle spoke to a Homestead officer and admitted he’d stabbed the victim. He said the man threatened to shoot him and shoot up the jitney stand.

Rochelle turned himself in about 2 p.m. and reiterated his side: he “snapped” after the victim threatened him, and he was fearful the man would do what he’d threatened, according to the complaint. He said he ditched the knife following the stabbing, concerned he’d be caught with it.

Rochelle is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of possession of an instrument of crime, and one count each of simple assault, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence. He was released Saturday on $20,000 bond.