By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – A man had to be hospitalized Thursday after being stabbed during an intoxicated altercation with his cousin.
Deputies were initially dispatched at about 6 p.m. to a residence on Shady Dell Road regarding a man who had been stabbed and was bleeding from his back.
Upon arrival, deputies located a subject with blood soaking through his jacket. The deputies brought the man back to their patrol truck. They began immediate First Aid by cutting away the man’s clothing and holding gauze on the wound until they were relieved by paramedics with Lifeline Ambulance.
The man was then taken to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center, where he was admitted for his injuries.
Deputies soon learned the injured man had been drinking with some cousins who lived in the area. One man who was suspected of committing the stabbing was found to be intoxicated. While he admitted getting into an altercation with the injured party, he denied doing anything wrong. The man was on probation and was initially taken into custody on a petition to revoke his probation due to his extreme alcohol use, but was later released.
A deputy made contact with the injured party the following day, however he could not or would not say who stabbed him. He did advise that his lung had been punctured during the incident.
A third cousin was then interviewed, and he advised that the injured man often gets violent when intoxicated and, in this case, accused his cousin of stealing his whiskey and threatened him with a hammer.
The man said he didn’t see any knife, and a search of the area failed to locate the hammer in question or whatever implement was used to stab the injured man.
Due to neither party being cooperative with law enforcement or wishing to pursue charges, no arrests were made.
