Photos for Headline Surfer / Christopher Sanchez-Roman, 33, shown above, is being held without bail in two alleged stabbings, one of them fatal.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DELTONA, Fla. -- A Deltona man has been charged with second-degree murder in a fatal stabbing Friday night inside a van traveling on Interstate 4 from Tampa, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.
Here is a synopsis of what occurred, according to the VCSO: Deputies responded to the Racetrac gas station at 3201 Howland Blvd., Deltona, shortly before 9:30 p.m. Friday. Two victims had been stabbed, and one was not breathing.
The investigation revealed that four men in the van were coworkers, driving back to Deltona from the Tampa area. On the way back, the group stopped and bought beer to drink on the ride home, and several empty beer cans were found in the van. In the area of mile marker 114 near Deltona, a rear-seat passenger, 33-year-old Christopher Sanchez-Roman, became angry when he felt he was being made fun of, and stabbed 30-year-old front-seat passenger Yoni Cipriano-Cruz, the VCVSO said in a press release.
Sanchez-Roman then stabbed another rear passenger, a 26-year-old co-worker, whose name was not provided, before the driver, whose name also was not provided, pulled into the Racetrac station for help, according to the press release.
The investigation revealed that four men in the van were coworkers, driving back to Deltona from the Tampa area. On the way back, the group stopped and bought beer to drink on the ride home, and several empty beer cans were found in the van. In the area of mile marker 114 near Deltona, a rear-seat passenger, 33-year-old Christopher Sanchez-Roman, became angry when he felt he was being made fun of, and stabbed 30-year-old front-seat passenger Yoni Cipriano-Cruz, the VCVSO said in a press release. Sanchez-Roman then stabbed another rear passenger, a 26-year-old co-worker, whose name was not provided, before the driver, whose name also was not provided, pulled into the Racetrac station for help, according to the press release.
Cipriano-Cruz was unresponsive at the scene and was transported to the hospital in Deltona, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The second victim was taken to the hospital in Sanford with multiple stab wounds that were not deemed to be life-threatening.
Sanchez-Roman was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach, where he is being held without bond.
Headline Surfer emailed the Volusia County Sheriff's PIOs for a copy of the arrest reports so it could ascertain the names of the second stabbing victim and the driver who sought help, but the request has gone unanswered.
Henry Frederick is publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched 12 years ago that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed more than a hundred journalism industry awards in print & online -- more than all other members of the working press combined in Central Florida since the mid-1990s. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism with academic honors from Full Sail University in 2019. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary programs on Discovery ID and Reelz for his investigative reporting and cops & courts breaking news stories.