Judge denies bond for woman charged with stabbing St. Augustine pastor

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A St. Johns County judge just ordered the woman charged with stabbing the lead pastor at Trinity Parish to go back to jail, awaiting another court appearance without bond.

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In today’s hearing, the judge said the charges Arieana Gibbs is facing for attacking Father Matt Morino in downtown St. Augustine are too violent to allow her to be let out of jail. Action News Jax first told you last Wednesday when Gibbs was first taken into custody.

Two witnesses testified against Gibbs today, a St. Augustine police officer and an employee at the McDonald’s on North Ponce De Leon Boulevard, about half a mile from where Morino was found on the ground after officers say he was stabbed outside Juniper Market.

The police report from the St. Augustine Police Department on Father Morino’s stabbing says Gibbs had tried stabbing the McDonald’s employee who testified not long before the attack on the pastor.

The worker says Gibbs came into the store, the two exchanged a “weird look,” and then she went up to the counter before pulling on the worker’s arm, pulling out a knife, and made an attempt to stab her in the arm. After the attorney representing the state asked if she still felt scared of Gibbs, the worker said “Yes, I am.”

The officer who testified says he found Father Morino on the ground with a stab wound on his chest, saying it looked like he was struggling to breathe. The judge described both attacks as “random” and “severe.”

Action News Jax’s Finn Carlin spoke with Father Caleb Jones, another pastor at Trinity Church, about how the church has been processing the pain of the attack. Jones says he can’t understand why someone would do this to a man he says is only known as selfless.

“It’s not something you would imagine at all,” says Father Jones, “it was a completely random attack. It was someone we’ve never known or seen in our services.”

Jones says this kind of attack is a sight seldom seen in downtown St. Augustine.

“There were a lot of flashing red and blue lights during people’s drives to work, which just really brought things to a halt,” Father Jones says.

Trinity Church says Father Morino is well on his way to recovery. Father Jones told Action News Jax today that the pastor is expected to be welcomed back soon.

The arrest from Father Morino’s stabbing marks Gibbs’ second arrest in three months. She was ordered to spend a month in the St. Johns County jail in August after police say she pushed, slapped, and threw a can of yams at a man she had a sexual relationship with.

Gibbs is due back in court on November 7th for an arraignment at 9:00 AM

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