A 20-year-old Lehigh Acres man is facing seven felony charges after allegedly attacking his ex-girlfriend, stabbing a bystander, and striking them both with his car outside a McDonald’s in Collier County Friday night.
Hayden Ray Retherford, 20, was arrested and remains in custody at the Naples Jail Center after turning himself in at the Immokalee substation. He faces charges including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault, robbery, and battery.
The incident began at a McDonald’s on Collier Boulevard, where Retherford allegedly stole his ex-girlfriend's phone inside the restaurant’s restroom. The victim, identified in reports as “SK,” ran into the restroom out of fear, but Retherford followed her and slammed her against the wall, according to an arrest report filed by the Collier County Sheriff's Office (CCSO).
SK, along with another individual identified as 17-year-old Yan Cerrillo, confronted Retherford outside the restaurant over the stolen property in a nearby parking lot, where a fight broke out. Retherford stabbed Cerrillo during the altercation in the chest twice before getting into his car and intentionally swerving into the victims as he fled the scene, according to the sheriff's office.
Cerrillo was airlifted as a trauma alert to the intensive care unit at Gulf Coast Medical Center and is recovering from a punctured lung, stab wounds, and numerous other injuries.
“When I got to the hospital, they told me that the stab, it wasn’t just in and out. He moved the knife while it was inside of me and then took it out. Then he tried to stab me again,” said Cerrillo, from the ICU at Gulf Coast Medical Center.
“We’re just walking down the road from McDonald’s to get me to a safe place, and I hear tires screeching. I look behind us. Then he runs me over again from behind.”
Detectives later found a pocket knife and a blood-stained sweater inside Retherford’s parent's car, according to investigative documents. He has a prior arrest history in 2023 for drug possession, resisting arrest, and carrying an unlicensed firearm, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO).
Cerrillo lost more than half of his blood from the stabbing.
“I remember the sentence before the surgery when I said to my mom, that I just was not ready to let go of life," said Cerrillo.
Cerrillo's mom told Gulf Coast News he had his lung tube removed Wednesday and doctors found more blood and fluid.
She said he had to have more surgery on Wednesday night and have another tube put in.
Retherford remains in custody as the investigation continues.