Inset: Jason Guthrie (Jacksonville County Sheriff's Office). Background: The Anheuser-Busch plant on the 100 block of Busch Drive in the Oceanway area of Jacksonville, Fla. (Google Maps).
A Florida man is accused of stabbing his co-worker to death at a sprawling brewery complex – during their first day on the job.
Jason Guthrie, 38, was arrested this week for 22-year-old Antoine Autry's murder, the Jacksonville County Sheriff's Office announced in a press release.
The suspect was being detained in the John E. Goode Pretrial Detention Facility as of Friday.
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It was Thursday afternoon, and the two contractors were working their first day at the Anheuser-Busch plant in Jacksonville.
Witnesses did not report recognizing any feud between the two, but said that, suddenly, they heard Autry screaming he had been stabbed – and then saw Guthrie running from the younger man, per Miami-based NBC affiliate WTVJ.
When law enforcement arrived at the plant around 4:30 p.m. that day, officers found Autry "with a stab wound to his chest," the sheriff's office said.
Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department personnel rushed the victim to an area hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Guthrie was "hiding inside one of the buildings on the plant," when a K-9 unit discovered him as authorities searched the beer-making facility, according to authorities.
The suspect was detained and interviewed, though it is unclear if any conversations have aided investigators in their efforts.
Guthrie was on probation at the time of his arrest for an incident in 2020 where he allegedly stabbed a man outside of a liquor store after asking for money.
The defendant was subsequently charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and pleaded guilty in that case last year, according to local The CW affiliate WJXT.
The arrest report at the time said Guthrie "suffers schizophrenia and PTSD."
