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A 23-year-old Florida man with a violent criminal record spent two months on the run before his capture on charges of rape and attempted murder, then walked out of jail after less than two days on a $9,500 bond.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Jacoby Tillman attacked a woman from behind around 8:20 a.m. on July 25, choking her unconscious on the Little Econ Greenway trail.
Tillman was due in court Tuesday morning for an arraignment, where Judge Vincent Chiu agreed to the prosecution’s motion to revoke bond. He was expected to be transferred to the Orange County Jail after the hearing.
His girlfriend, whose name is redacted in court documents, alleged to detectives that Tillman told her, “I didn’t rape the lady. I was trying to kill the lady.” He later allegedly explained, “Because I wanted to know what it is like to choke someone out,” according to court documents.
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She also alleged that Tillman had choked her previously and that his mother tried to help him avoid capture after she saw news coverage of the attack, including surveillance video.
The victim told deputies she awoke face down, with her shorts and undergarments gone, according to the court documents. The suspect was gone when she came to, and she ran for help. She encountered several other people further down the trail, and they called 911 and gave her a spare set of shorts.
In addition to being choked unconscious, a police affidavit identified injuries to both of her eyes and her nose.
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Further down the trail, another jogger saw a man matching Tillman’s description “sprinting” away, according to the affidavit. He told detectives he thought it was “odd” and then found the victim’s phone and car keys on the ground nearby.
Security cameras along the edge of the trail also allegedly recorded Tillman throwing the victim’s underwear over a fence.
The attack prompted authorities to warn women to remain vigilant while walking or running, stop using noise-canceling headphones and not to jog alone.
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A shirtless Tillman was recorded glaring at a photographer and licking his lips when deputies walked him into a patrol vehicle.
After Tillman made bail at a hearing on Oct. 14, Sheriff John Mina called it “atrocious” in a Facebook post.
Court records in Orange County show Tillman has at least four felony cases going back to 2021, with convictions including robbery and the violent battery of a defenseless victim.
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He was also convicted of misdemeanor battery in 2023.
In the latest case, he faces charges of first-degree attempted murder, attempted sexual battery with a deadly weapon or physical force, battery by strangulation and third-degree battery.
Fox News’ Danamarie McNicholl contributed to this report.
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