20-year-old man arrested in knife attack
A Spokane man suffered a 6-inch gash to his neck, a cut to his face and cuts to his fingers when an apparent robbery attempt turned into a stabbing, police said.
The 24-year-old victim picked up the suspect near Coeur d’Alene Park in Browne’s Addition. The man said he needed a ride, Officer Mike McCasland said.
During the ride, the passenger turned to the driver and ordered him to hand over his money, McCasland said. The two men began to fight. “The passenger pulled a butterfly knife and started cutting,” McCasland said.
The driver parked the car at Chestnut and Second Avenue and escaped by crawling out of the car’s sun roof, McCasland said. The passenger fled on foot, but Officer Bill Schaber arrested him near the intersection of Lindeke Street and Sunset Boulevard. The suspect was identified as 20-year-old Joseph W. Hart. Hart was booked into jail on the charge of first-degree robbery, Cottam said.
The driver was transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center, but his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, McCasland said. “That’s the story we got. We are trying to piece together what happened,” he said.
Cottam said the victim has been uncooperative with police, but they continued to investigate the assault.