TAVARES, Florida—A California man is being held on just $16,500 bond after his friend went to Tavares Police Department covered in blood Saturday morning, with her eye swollen shut and asked for help after he allegedly stabbed and beat her.
The victim, who appeared to have multiple stab wounds on her chest and shoulders, told TPD her friend, Oren Derell Warren, 57, of Sacramento, Calif., beat and stabbed her at her home in Tavares. She said Warren began arguing with her early Saturday morning over borrowing her car and he repeatedly choked her, kicked her and punched her, but she could not remember if she had been stabbed. “The evident stab wounds and her initial comment made to (a TPD corporal) showed otherwise,” the arresting officer noted in the arrest affidavit.
Due to the extent of her injuries, the woman was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where a TPD detective responded and gathered more information.
TPD patrol officers responded to the victim’s home and found the front door wide open, and Warren approached the officers and was held at gunpoint. He followed the officers’ directions and stated he had a knife on his hip. A TPD sergeant removed the knife and Warren was taken into custody.
Warren told police he was intoxicated Friday night and had just woken up. He said the pair were drinking and smoking marijuana and he did not remember anything else. Warren said he moved to Tavares from California after the victim invited him due to issues in California, but the victim told a different story.
According to the affidavit, the victim told police she has known Warren for several years and he recently moved to Florida from California but does not have a home or a vehicle. The victim said Warren reached out to her for assistance and she had fed him, allowed him to shower at her home and let him borrow her car occasionally, but he does not live with her. Warren told police he does live with the victim and pays her $600 per month and has his own room. Warren said the pair dated approximately 20 years ago and maintained a friendship.
Friday night, Warren wanted to go to a local bar for “karaoke night” and when they arrived the victim decided she did not want to be there. She told Warren she wanted to leave, and he became “instantly upset” and pushed her. The victim told police this was out of character for Warren, as he had never been violent with her before.
The pair drove back to the victim’s house and the victim started to get ready for bed. She realized her keys were missing and found that Warren had taken her SUV without permission. She called Warren multiple times and he did not answer his phone, the affidavit states. Warren arrived at the victim’s home around 5:30 to 6 a.m. Saturday and she confronted him about taking her vehicle.
Warren, who the victim believed was high on some sort of narcotic, told the victim “I’ll take it if I want” and became instantly angry and violent. The victim reminded Warren she has only helped him and there was no reason to be upset. Warren approached her and started hitting her on both sides of her head and stabbed her with a knife he keeps in his back pocket. The victim said he stabbed her in the shoulder, armpit and throat and then used both hands to strangle her to the point she could not breathe, and she told him, “You’re killing me.” Warren eventually let go, took her phone and forced her to go to the bathroom with him so she could not escape, she told police.
Warren reportedly said, “I should kill you, (expletive.) Police are gonna come and kill me too, but I don’t care cause I took you out.” He followed her into the bedroom and started hitting her and strangled her again; he let go and the victim was gasping for air. Warren sat on the edge of the bed and held her at knifepoint and the victim pretended to fall asleep. She waited until Warren fell asleep and she quietly exited the home. She drove to her husband’s house, and he immediately drove her to the police department for help.
Warren was arrested for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, battery by strangulation, possession of a concealed weapon by a convicted felon, false imprisonment and deprivation of 911. The arresting officer requested a “no-bond” status, because of Warren’s criminal history, including a conviction for murder in California in 1984 and several other violent charges that were dismissed in California and Texas, in addition to Warren not having any ties to Florida except the victim.
However, Circuit Judge Michael Takac set the bond at $16,500, a deviation from the bond schedule for the 5th Judicial Circuit, which includes Lake County. According to Administrative Order A-2014-12 A, the suggested bond is $29,000.
The bond schedule is merely a suggestion, and it is not a binding order, Takac told Inside Lake Monday morning. He said he does not remember the particulars of Warren’s case but stressed that bonds are not a punishment.
“In the eyes of the legal system, he is still presumed innocent. You don’t set bond to punish people, you set the bond to make sure they show up to court,” Takac said.
