Man arrested on suspicion of slashing another man with box cutter on STA bus

A man was arrested Friday morning under suspicion of cutting another man’s throat while on a Spokane Transit Authority bus in Spokane Valley.

Paul D. Mattingly, 50, was taken into custody at about 10 a.m. after deputies found him lying in the dirt on the side of the road near Second Avenue and Appleway Boulevard, wrote Cpl. Mark Gregory in a news release. A search of his pockets showed Mattingly was carrying a dark-colored box knife wrapped in a bandana.

Minutes earlier, deputies say Mattingly slashed the man’s neck as the two sat on an STA bus headed along Appleway Boulevard. Gregory said the bus stopped at Appleway and Elizabeth Road, which is when Mattingly reportedly walked off the bus.

The victim, according to Gregory, sustained minor injuries. He was treated at the scene.