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Self-proclaimed angel of God accused of stabbing

Posted at 9:45 AM, Feb 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-01 18:29:33-05

A man claiming to be an 'angel of God' is accused of stabbing a man who was walking into a drugstore Saturday night in Fort Pierce, according to police.

The victim said he was on his way into Walgreens at 2501 Virginia Ave. when the suspect walked past him, turned around, pulled a knife and attacked him saying "die (expletive)."

After the injured man went into the store and asked for help the suspect showed up and threw the knife down and said, "I stabbed him," according to an arrest affidavit.

An officer who arrived on the scene saw a man walking out of the store who said, "I did it, I stabbed him," the affidavit states.

The suspect, identified as Keith Alexander Newman, 29, was taken into custody.

Questioned later, police say Newman give this account. He said he was abused as a child and the man he stabbed looked the person who abused him and deserved to die.

Newman, according to the affidavit, said he stabbed the victim with the intent of killing him and he had the right to do so because he is "an angel of God."

He also said he is incompetent because he was accused of an assault in the past and nothing happened to him. He also admitted that he had recently been detained under the Baker Act. Police can initiate a Baker Act which involves a psychiatric exam without a person's consent.

Newman faces a charge of attempted murder.

The victim is hospitalized in stable condition.