UM sports fan known as ‘Cutler Ridge Laz’ faces murder charge in neighbor’s stabbing
A sports fan known to many as “Cutler Ridge Laz” for his Twitter posts and frequent call-ins to radio station WQAM-560 AM to express his support for the University of Miami Hurricanes has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Detectives say that Lazaro Armando Arribas got into an argument with his neighbor, Lester Arnold Forrest, over Arribas’ feeding of stray animals.
The two men’s homes are in Lehigh Acres near Fort Myers.
According to an arrest report filed by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a call concerning a stabbing on the afternoon of Feb. 28. When officers got to the residential neighborhood they saw a trail of blood leading to Forrest, 49, who was on the ground near his driveway.
Two people, identified as Maureen Arribas and her husband Lazaro, 48, were bending over the victim, “attempting to render aid,” the report said.
According to the report, as he was rendering aid to Forrest, who was on the ground and bleeding from a wound to the neck, Arribas allegedly said, “He came at me. He came into my yard” and said that he used a pocketknife to stab the victim.
The pocketknife was found in the driveway by their homes.
Detectives say two witnesses told them that Arribas and Forrest were arguing over stray animals that Arribas had been feeding. When Forrest, who was on his side of the fence, approached Arribas, the two started arguing. Forrest, the report says, then walked off of his property onto the road and Arribas left his fenced-in yard to meet with Forrest.
The two men then got into a fight.
“All of a sudden Lester was bleeding and trying to retreat to his house,” the report said. “Lester collapsed by his front door, where Lazaro called 911 and began giving CPR until responding deputies arrived.”
According to the report, Arribas told detectives he was an animal lover and fed all the stray animals in the area but on the Friday morning before the Monday incident he had heard what he believed to be pellets hitting a neighbor’s car as he “watched ducks flying up as if they were being shot at.”
Arribas reportedly confronted Forrest via text, leading to Forrest sending several angry texts and wanting to fight Arribas, the report said.
Over the next two days, Saturday and Sunday, Arribas told detectives that Forrest continued antagonizing him to the point he blocked Forrest on his phone, the report said.
On Friday, Arribas told detectives he was walking his dog down the road when Forrest got home from work and began arguing and yelling profanities. Arribas, the report said, told detectives he went into his house and gave the dog to his wife and told her several times to go inside.
When Arribas moved his trash cans in from the road where Forrest was standing he told detectives that Forrest aggressively approached him and that’s when the fight turned physical.
“Lester hit Lazaro a couple of times and Lazaro had his pocketknife so he pulled it out and started swinging,” the arrest report read. “Lazaro was in fear that if Lester made it past him he would cause harm to has wife, who was in the garage with their dog.”
Arribas, who had no signs of injury according to the report, told deputies he “did not want to harm” Forrest.
Arribas was initially arrested and charged with aggravated battery. He bonded out of Lee County Jail on Tuesday and was released with an ankle monitor.
On Wednesday, Lee County detectives looked at surveillance video they had obtained from the scene.
According to the report, the surveillance video showed Arribas leaving by the gate to his yard “with what appears to be a black knife in his right hand.”
The report said that Arribas “clearly attempts to conceal the knife behind his back while approaching the victim in the roadway.”
After what appeared to be a brief verbal altercation and Arribas spitting at Forrest, the fight begins, detectives say they saw on the video.
“The victim attempts to punch Lazaro and Lazaro immediately begins to stab him several times with the knife. The victim appears to realize he has been stabbed and attempts to get away. As the victim is walking away, what appears to be a large amount of blood hits the ground,” the Lee County Sheriff’s report read.
On Thursday, Forrest died in the hospital.
As a result, Arribas was taken back to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the charges were upgraded to second-degree murder. Arribas was placed back in Lee County Jail.
“I have been Laz and Maureen’s lawyer for years. But like everyone that has met him, Laz is a friend, a mentor, and his kindness and humility is an inspiration to all who know him,” David Winker wrote in an email to the Miami Herald. “Our prayers go out to the man that lost his life in the fight with Laz. But we want everyone to know that Laz was defending his home, Maureen and their rescue animals and Laz is going to fight these charges with the truth.”
UM fans and followers of Arribas’ Twitter account also took to Twitter to speak about Arribas.
“I can tell you, this man and his wife are good people,” read one tweet. “Laz would give the shirt off his back for the people he knew and didn’t know. Opened his doors to those in need. His wife needs our prayers. I’m so sorry to the man’s family for their loss... But I know there is more to this.”
Forrest’s children started a GoFundMe account where his daughter Mary wrote, “Jordan, Kaitlyn and I will always remember our dad as the funniest guy we’ll ever know. The best listener. When we’d talk to him on the phone it would be at least an hour-long phone call. He loved his kids.”
Miami Herald staff writer Charles Rabin contributed to this report.
