A man accused of orchestrating an ambush that left a victim stabbed and hit with an ax will be held in jail until trial.Nicholas Lavallee, 20, was in an Orange County courtroom Monday morning, a week after the attack at the University Park apartments in east Orlando. Both he and a woman he calls his wife, Anne Marie Aksell, are facing charges for armed robbery, aggravated battery with a firearm, and grand theft of a motor vehicle.The victim, James Isaacs, told WESH 2 he went to the apartments to meet a woman he’d met on Instagram, but was confronted by Lavallee, who was armed with a handgun.When Isaacs tried to run away, two other unidentified men chased him down. He suffered stab wounds and was hit in the head with an ax.”He said something about shooting me. And I remember at that point, it was fight or flight,” Isaacs told WESH 2.Investigators say Lavallee claimed he only wanted to fight the victim. He had seen the messages Isaacs had exchanged with Aksell on Instagram and was upset that he seemed to be making fun of Lavallee.”He was upset that the victim was disrespectful to Nicholas,” said Orange County Sheriff’s Detective Rob Calachi. “I think what he said was he called him goofy.” Prosecutors asked a judge to hold both Lavallee and Aksell in jail without bond. They say the couple sent Isaacs messages claiming they had broken up and inviting him to the complex.Aksell was allegedly wearing lingerie when he arrived.”This wasn’t just a plan to fight; he had alternate plans,” said assistant State Attorney Ashley Culpepper. “That is why he provided his friend with an ax and why he came out with his firearm.”Judge Cherish Adams agreed with prosecutors that no conditions of release could ensure the public’s safety. She ordered that Lavallee be held in jail without bond until he goes on trial.A similar hearing was scheduled for Aksell, but had to be postponed until Tuesday because she had a new lawyer appointed to her case. The two unidentified men involved in the attack have not been arrested.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
A man accused of orchestrating an ambush that left a victim stabbed and hit with an ax will be held in jail until trial.
Nicholas Lavallee, 20, was in an Orange County courtroom Monday morning, a week after the attack at the University Park apartments in east Orlando.
Both he and a woman he calls his wife, Anne Marie Aksell, are facing charges for armed robbery, aggravated battery with a firearm, and grand theft of a motor vehicle.
The victim, James Isaacs, told WESH 2 he went to the apartments to meet a woman he’d met on Instagram, but was confronted by Lavallee, who was armed with a handgun.
When Isaacs tried to run away, two other unidentified men chased him down. He suffered stab wounds and was hit in the head with an ax.
“He said something about shooting me. And I remember at that point, it was fight or flight,” Isaacs told WESH 2.
Investigators say Lavallee claimed he only wanted to fight the victim. He had seen the messages Isaacs had exchanged with Aksell on Instagram and was upset that he seemed to be making fun of Lavallee.
“He was upset that the victim was disrespectful to Nicholas,” said Orange County Sheriff’s Detective Rob Calachi. “I think what he said was he called him goofy.”
Prosecutors asked a judge to hold both Lavallee and Aksell in jail without bond. They say the couple sent Isaacs messages claiming they had broken up and inviting him to the complex.
Aksell was allegedly wearing lingerie when he arrived.
“This wasn’t just a plan to fight; he had alternate plans,” said assistant State Attorney Ashley Culpepper. “That is why he provided his friend with an ax and why he came out with his firearm.”
Judge Cherish Adams agreed with prosecutors that no conditions of release could ensure the public’s safety. She ordered that Lavallee be held in jail without bond until he goes on trial.
A similar hearing was scheduled for Aksell, but had to be postponed until Tuesday because she had a new lawyer appointed to her case.
The two unidentified men involved in the attack have not been arrested.