'Pure evil': Florida police chief rails against criminal justice system after violent felon allegedly murders frail, old man while out on bond in connection to yet another violent incident

A police chief in Florida is visibly frustrated with the criminal justice system after a violent felon with a long rap sheet reportedly murdered an old man in poor health while out on bond in connection to yet another violent incident.

Justin Giambanco is all too familiar with law enforcement in Florida. Though just 31 years old, Giambanco has already been charged with 22 felonies and 24 misdemeanors stretching back to 2010. In 2017, he went to prison after being accused of several violent charges, including battery and aggravated assault. After his release two years later, Giambanco immediately violated the conditions of his parole. In April 2021, he was given a sentence of four and a half years for yet another offense, but was released last October after serving just 18 months.

Earlier this month, Giambanco was allegedly back to his old tricks again. On April 15, he was arrested for reportedly trespassing at a woman's home after she asked him to leave and then assaulting the police officer who came to investigate. Despite his lengthy criminal record and the violent nature of the latest allegations against him, Giambanco was able to bond out of custody the following day.

Within days, Giambanco reportedly committed several burglaries in the Palm Bay area, about 90 miles south of Daytona Beach. But sadly, this latest alleged crime spree didn't end there.

On April 20, just four days after he was released on bond for supposedly attacking a cop, Palm Bay police received a call from a man who had discovered his father, 69-year-old Paul Black, dead. Black was sprawled atop a TV, a cell phone, and a loaded firearm magazine. His throat had been cut, and a large knife lay near his body. His hands had been bound with a USB cable.

Black's neighbor Richard Redwanowski was shocked and horrified by the news. "He wouldn't hurt anybody," Redwanowski said. "He's a super, super, straight-up nice guy." Redwanowski also added that Black was in poor health and required an oxygen tank to survive. "I built something for him," Redwanowski recalled, "and his son helped me carry it over there. So that's the last time I saw him."

Investigators later determined that the cell phone discovered underneath Black's body belonged to Giambanco. A search of the suspect's vehicle also reportedly yielded Black's cell phone, a bottle of medicine prescribed to Black, a dead woman's passport, some bloody sneakers, and a handgun. Giambanco was already in police custody in connection to the burglary allegations when he was charged with second-degree murder, false imprisonment, grand theft of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection to Black's death.

In a statement to address Giambanco's arrest, Palm Bay Police Chief Mario Augello slammed the system which permitted a career criminal like Giambanco back out on the streets. "We are seeing far too many violent repeat offenders being released way too early for either shortened sentences or because of minimal bottom-outs," Augello claimed.

Giambanco is a man of "pure evil" who has been "out roaming free within our community, terrorizing our citizens," the police chief continued. He is also "just another example of how our current criminal justice system is failing to keep our community safe," Augello said.

"This murder could have been prevented had Giambanco served his full, 53-month sentence back in April of 2021," Augello asserted.

Giambanco remains in custody in Brevard County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 18.

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