Lucious Smith, arrested and charged with the stabbing death of a 25-year-old woman, made his first appearance in court on the charges today.
According to police, Smith is the man who chased down and repeatedly stabbed a woman Monday on a Dade City street.
Stephanie Ross died Monday after she was stabbed several times, police said.
Smith, 53, was arrested and is facing a murder charge. Smith is scheduled to appear before a judge via closed circuit TV today.
Ross, who was an employee for Integra Health Management, was delivering some kind of insurance paperwork to Smith's home on Coleman Avenue. Smith is one of the company's customers, police said.
For some reason, Smith became angry and attacked Ross, police said.
Officials said residents in the neighborhood saw the attack take place.
More on Smith
According to records, Smith has been in and out of prison most of his adult life.
Smith has a record dating back to 1981. He has been in prison four times, serving a total of 14 years.
He last served prison time from 1998-2005, when he was convicted of aggravated assault with a weapon out of Pinellas County.
Because of his past record and the violent nature of the attack, Smith will not get bond today. He remains behind bars in Pasco County.
911 calls alerted police to attack
Police learned about the attack shortly before noon after receiving 911 calls about a man chasing a woman on Coleman Avenue and stabbing her as she tried to flee.
When officers arrived, they learned that Ross had been picked up by a passerby and taken to a local hospital, the report said.
Officers then went to a home in the 37000 block of Coleman Avenue, where they found Smith bleeding and standing in his apartment, police said.
Smith was bleeding, so officers contacted emergency medical crews to take him to a local hospital for treatment.
Officers then went to the hospital, where they learned Ross had been stabbed several times. She was pronounced dead at 1:27 p.m.