Intruder fatally stabbed by resident at St. Pete apartment
ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - The St. Pete Police Department said an intruder was stabbed by a man protecting his family early Sunday morning.
The incident happened around 1:30 a.m. at The Vibe at Gateway apartment complex on 77th Avenue North.
According to investigators, the resident awoke to find 23-year-old Zachery Eggleston inside his apartment. A struggle ensued and the victim stabbed Eggleston, who later died at the hospital. The victim was also taken to the hospital for unknown injuries.
"They got into an all out brawl." said Yolanda Fernandez with the St. Petersburg Police Department. "At that point, when it looked like Eggleston was on top of Mr. Garcia, he ended up stabbing him."
Police said the victim, his girlfriend and her daughter were all sleeping when Eggleston forced his way inside.
The suspect also lives in the apartment complex, but detectives said the two men did not know each other.
"This is a situation where these 2 men did not know each other, they both live in the same apartment complex but there was no relationship between them," said Fernandez.
The victim has not been charged.