Justin Giambanco. (Mugshot: Brevard County Sheriff's Office)
A 31-year-old violent felon who has just been released from prison months earlier has been arrested for the murder of a 69-year-old resident of Palm Bay, Florida.
Justin Giambanco, 31, is currently being held without bond at the Brevard County Jail for charges including murder in the second degree with a firearm.
According to Palm Bay Police Chief Mario Augello, officers responded to a residence in the 2700 block of Palm Drive Northeast at approximately 7 p.m. on Thursday after a 911 call reported that a man was found dead. Officers arrived in four minutes to find the deceased victim, a 69-year-old who Augello did not name. The chief claimed investigators identified Giambanco as the suspect based on evidence.
According to documents, cops said they found the victim dead on the floor in the northeast bedroom of the residence. The victim sustained a large laceration to his neck area, they said. There was a bloodied, large kitchen knife by his body.
"The victim's hands were also tied and bound by a white USB cable cord," police wrote.
His son had discovered the man dead, lying on top of a TV that had been thrown facedown on the floor. Cops found an iPhone at the scene under the body and the TV that they later determined was owned by Giambanco.
Investigators discovered that the Melbourne Police Department had already arrested him on Thursday for an unrelated burglary charge.
Police said they found .380 caliber ammunition under the man's body as he was lying on the floor. Based on a handgun of the same caliber found in Giambanco's car, investigators suggest both the killer and the victim struggled over the firearm.
Sneakers found in the vehicle had blood on them. Police believe these were the shoes he wore during the killing, leaving a zigzag pattern of blood on the victim's bedroom floor.
He blasted the defendant as "pure evil" in a video statement released to Facebook.
"He is a violent repeat offender that while out on bond for a previous arrest, preyed on the citizens of Brevard County," the police chief said. "The suspect in this case is just another example of how our current criminal justice system is failing to keep our community safe. The suspect's criminal history includes numerous violent felony and misdemeanor charges. To be exact, he has 22 felony charges along with 24 misdemeanor charges, yet somehow, this individual is out roaming free within our community, terrorizing our citizens."
In 2017, Giambanco was arrested and charged with occupied burglary with a battery, aggravated assault, shooting a missile into an occupied dwelling, and criminal mischief, the chief said. He served approximately two years behind bars and immediately violated the conditions of release, he said. Giambanco was charged with a violation in April 2021 and sentenced to 53 months in prison, the chief said. He was released only 18 months later in October 2022. It was on April 15 that he was arrested for an unrelated case of trespassing and battering a police officer. He was released the next day. Giambanco was a suspect in several burglaries in Brevard County, Augello said.
This murder would not have happened if he served his entire 53-month sentence, the chief said.
According to documents in the recent trespassing case, Giambanco had been staying at a woman's home on April 15 when she asked him to leave. He allegedly refused and she called 911. A responding Brevard County deputy described giving Giambanco several opportunities to leave, but the defendant refused.
"While on scene, Mr. Giambanco was aggressive," the affidavit stated. "He took a bladed stance and invaded my personal space aggressively. He was subsequently arrested."
Prison records with the Florida Department of Corrections show an in-custody date of Nov. 22, 2013, and a release of April 22, 2017; an in-custody date of Jan. 30, 2018, and a release of Nov. 21, 2019; and in-custody date of April 29, 2021, and Nov. 5, 2022. This last case was a four-year, five-month, and eight-day prison sentence handed down on April 5, 2021. The charge was shooting into or throwing deadly missiles into dwellings, public or private buildings, occupied or not occupied.
An arraignment in the murder case is set for May 18. Other charges in this matter are false imprisonment, grand theft of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Note: We added more information from police.
