An 18-year-old man by the name of Antonio Luis Gueits has been charged with first-degree murder after severely beating a woman at a Tampa park during a robbery. The woman recently succumbed to her injuries three months after the attack. Gueits of Lutz, Florida, was initially arrested on December 26, 2024, for aggravated battery and other charges. He was accused of brutally beating Cerida Charon, a 65-year-old woman, and taking her purse. Since the victim passed away on March 16, 2025, he is facing more serious charges.
Robbery and Assault
The day after Christmas, a woman was violently attacked in a Tampa park. Detectives obtained surveillance footage to make sense of what happened. Prosecutors filed a motion Tuesday insisting Gueits remains in jail through his trial. The motion details the events captured on video. It explains there is enough evidence to show how dangerous this man is.
The motion states on December 26, 2024, before 4 a.m., Charon was sitting on a bench in the University Area Community Park when Gueits approached her. Charon stands up off the bench moments later and “cowers away.” Gueits proceeded to punch her in the face, causing her to collapse. While she lies defenselessly on the ground, he is seen stomping on and kicking her. While Charon lies unconscious, Gueits takes that time to go through her belongings, steals her purse, and runs away. When you think the assault is over, Gueits returns to the scene minutes later.
The video shows him returning to an unconscious Charon. He lifts her upper body and slams her to the ground. Next, he dragged her body by the legs not too far from where she was before. He then proceeded to roll a shopping cart with her belongings inside, tipped it over, and kicked Charon one final time before leaving. Police responded to the scene and took her to a hospital where they diagnosed her with a brain bleed and facial fractures.
Charon received treatment in the intensive care unit at Tampa General Hospital before she was transferred to a long-term acute care facility on February 24, 2025. Four days later, Charon was alert but unable to speak. She was able to relay to the detective that she had no memory of the assault. Later that day, she was transferred to another long-term care facility in Clearwater. On March 12, she was transferred to Morton Plant Hospital where unfortunately she passed away. Her cause of death was deemed a homicide and determined to be from blunt force trauma during an attack.
Facing Murder Charges
A detective positively identified Gueits with the video and arrested him at his home later that day. The motion states Gueits admitted to being the man in the video and felt no shame for his actions. The detective said Gueits told him, “that during the heat of the moment, it felt good while he was hitting her … because it felt good to get his anger out.” He was then arrested and charged with robbery, aggravated and felony battery. Following the death of Cerida Charon, his charges were upgraded to first-degree murder on March 17, 2025.
Before Charon’s murder, Gueits’ public defender argued his bond should be reduced considering he had no source of income. His defender succeeded and reduced his bond from $100,000 to $76,000. However, it is still far too high for him to get out on bail given his situation. He has remained in jail following his arrest. It is most likely for the best considering this is not his first violent offense. He has also faced aggravated assault with a weapon charge and nine separate battery convictions. Since he has violated his probation and failed to appear in court in the past, he is considered a flight risk.
Final Thoughts
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister made a statement about the murder saying, “This was a completely senseless and inhumane attack over nothing more than a purse.” He continued, “This innocent woman was left unconscious, suffering, and fighting for her life for months because of this man’s horrific actions. Now, with her tragic passing, we will make sure he is held fully accountable for this brutal crime.”
This was not a crime of passion or even premeditated, this was blatant murder. Charon and her family deserve justice for the awful actions of this individual. Sheriff Chronister is doing right by ensuring he is held accountable for Charon’s murder and taking Gueits out of the public.
