ORLANDO, Fla. -- A tipster helped Orlando Police Department find one of two suspects recently accused of random attacks in and near the Lake Eola area.
- Marquise D. Jones, 31, arrested Tuesday
- Suspect accused of punching on October 11
- Search continues for Cathcart Avenue attacker
Marquise D. Jones, 31, on Tuesday was charged with felony battery for allegedly punching a Thornton Park restaurant patron in the face on October 11, which happened at 105 S. Eola.
"The suspect was captured on surveillance video from this area, where he can be seen behaving erratically," said Orlando Police Lt. Wanda Miglio.
She said a tipster helped police with unspecified information on October 14 that led to Jones, who has been accused of randomly punching people in the face before.
Orlando police charged him with felony battery in April 2019. A jury found him not guilty last month.
In that case, Jones was accused of punching David Anthony Rios outside of Richard Allen Garden Apartments, 720 Carter Street, without provocation, just before noon February 27, 2019. Rios said Jones broke a tooth.
A detective assigned to the case the next day talked to Rios, who said he learned that Jones lives next door. Others in complex knew Jones, too.
During a photo lineup at OPD headquarters on April 2, 2019 Rios identified Jones as the alleged attacker.
Police noted the positive ID and his conviction in a previous case of misdemeanor battery. Then they obtained an arrest warrant for Jones. A jury found him not guilty in September 2019.
However, he was convicted of a face-punching attack in June 2018.
In that case, Jones was sentenced to 95 days in the Orange County Jail and fined nearly $600 under a plea agreement that adjudicated him guilty on September 27, 2018. That case stemmed from an attack on June 25, 2018.
A worker waiting for his assignment from a day-labor business on W. Kaley Street said a man later identified as Jones punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground and smashing his glasses, for no reason.
The victim, David Lee Eggleton, also suffered facial cuts.
"I thought you were someone else," Jones said before leaving, according to an Orlando police report.
A manager at Labor Finders told an OPD officer Jones had been in the business previously looking for work.
Eggleton got into the officer’s patrol vehicle and drove around until they spotted Jones at W. Columbia Street and Atlanta Avenue.
“The suspect told me his name was Marquise Jones. The suspect also told me he did not punch anyone,” a report said. “The suspect was arrested and charged as listed.”
Orlando police said they are continuing a search for a second person who attacked a woman on Cathcart Avenue in Lake Eola Heights on October 9.
The woman was heading back to her apartment on Cathcart Avenue after walking her dog when she noticed a man behind her at around 8:44 p.m. He pushed her door open as she tried to enter her home.
The woman told police the man then covered her mouth to stop her from screaming, while trying to push her into her apartment.
Neighbors eventually came out when they heard the screaming, causing the man to flee. Police released a composite image of the attacker.
Jones is being held on $3,500 bond at the Orange County Jail.
Tipsters are urged to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.