Warning, graphic content: Suspect accused of biting off part of store clerk's face in Massachusetts
Witness describes the animalistic attack in Taunton where 19-year-old Joel Davila allegedly bit off part of the face and arm of a gas station clerk.
A Massachusetts man was caught on surveillance video biting a gas station clerk who was trying to prevent him from stealing a bottled drink from a cooler on Monday.
Joel Davila, 19, then played “finger paints” with the victim’s blood “and licked it and put it all over” his face, a witness to the incident inside a Sunoco Gas station in Taunton told Boston 25.
The witness told police that Davila then told him, “I don’t eat flesh, I just drink blood” while he licked his fingers following the brutal attack.
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Police said Davila bit the clerk in the face and on the elbow around 11:25 p.m. Monday. The 55-year-old clerk had a serious gash below his left eye, which was bleeding profusely. He was taken to a Boston hospital with serious but injuries that were not life-threatening.
Joel Davila, 19, is accused of biting a gas station clerk's face and then licking the blood. (Taunton Police Department)
A witness at the store called 911 and tended to the victim while another witness prevented Davila from leaving the store.
Police said they found Davila sitting on the floor in an aisle inside the store. When an officer asked Davila about the victim’s missing flesh, the 19-year-old reportedly said: “I think I ate it, you can cut my stomach open to check.”
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The 19-year-old was taken to a hospital for overnight evaluation and was arrested after his release Tuesday morning.
Davila, who was smiling at his arraignment in Taunton District Court on Tuesday, faces charges of assault with intent to maim and mayhem. He was held without bail and ordered to undergo a mental evaluation.
“The actions of the suspect represent an attack of an innocent worker just doing his job and trying to prevent the theft of merchandise from his place of employment,” Taunton Police Chief Edward Walsh said in a statement. “I would like to commend the good Samaritans who were in the store at the time and helped the victim while preventing this dangerous suspect from escaping and possibly harming others.”
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Police said that Davila was known to the store clerk and had allegedly stolen from the store before.
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