A West Jordan man has been charged with aggravated assault after he allegedly stabbed another man in an altercation last month in Tooele.
John M. Morris, 26, is charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury and misdemeanor obstructing justice.
Tooele City police were dispatched to Mountain West Medical Center on June 30 on a report of a stabbing, according to a probable cause statement. When officers arrived at the hospital, they found a male victim who had been stabbed three times — once in the face and twice in the left shoulder.
A witness who transported the victim to the hospital said the stabbing occurred at an apartment on Vine Street and identified Morris as the suspect, the statement said. When officers arrived at the Vine Street apartment, they detained Morris and transported him to the police department to be interviewed.
When police spoke with the victim, he said he was drinking and got into an argument with Morris, the statement said. The victim said Morris stabbed his face, then the victim punched Morris, before being stabbed two more times in the shoulder.
The witness said he thought Morris and the victim had only punched each other until he heard the victim said he’d been stabbed, according to the probable cause statement.
During his interview with police, Morris said he’d been drinking at the apartment with friends and the victim, the statement said. He said the victim was being rude and verbally abusive.
Morris said the victim did not make threats on his life or have any weapons, but he felt his life was threatened, according to the probable cause statement. Morris told police he went to his car and retrieved a fixed-blade knife with a sheath, which he attached to his belt.
Morris said the victim continued to be rude and belittle him, the statement said. According to Morris, the victim walked toward him in a way that appeared he wanted to fight.
Morris said his hand was on the handle of the knife but it was still sheathed when the victim approached, according to the probable cause statement. Morris told police he “blacked out” and the next thing he remembers is the victim yelling that he was stabbed.
Morris said he doesn’t remember taking the knife out of its sheath but he remembers seeing blood on his knife and wiping it off on his pants, the statement said. He showed police a blood stain on his pants.
When asked about the location of the knife, Morris said he left it on top of his car, which was driven away by a friend, according to the probable cause statement. Police found a knife matching the description Morris gave in a shed on the Vine Street property.
During an initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Monday, Morris’s bail was set at $10,000. He is scheduled to return to court on July 16 at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Matthew Bates.