Manatee Sheriff: Sarasota man charged with swinging kitchen knife at friend

MANATEE -- A Sarasota man was charged with swinging a kitchen knife at a friend during an argument, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

Rogelio Diaz, 54, was arrested at 8:11 p.m. Friday in the 6900 block of 15th Street East. According to a report, Diaz and the victim are just friends and have never had an intimate relationship, both told deputies. The victim told deputies that Diaz got involved in a verbal argument with her that turned violent when Diaz grabbed a kitchen knife and swung it at her.

According to the victim, the knife never made contact with her body and when she grabbed her phone to call 911 Diaz threw it in the back of a van. She told deputies that she had no doubt in her mind that Diaz wanted to harm her because of the way he was screaming at her and his level of intoxication. The victim said she was in fear for her life.

The victim described the weapon as a long silver blade knife with a brown handle, according to the report. After obtaining consent by Diaz to search his vehicle for the weapon, deputies found a knife with a brown handle in a bucket between the driver and passenger seats. Deputies said the victim identified the knife as the same one used against her. Diaz denied the allegations.

Diaz told deputies that he had no idea why the victim called 911 and he never touched any weapon, according to the report. He also said they had a little argument but that was it, nothing else.

Diaz was charged with aggravated assault and was being held in Manatee County jail on $1,000 bond, according to the sheriff's office website.

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Manatee Sheriff: Sarasota man charged with swinging kitchen knife at friend ."