MOSCOW MILLS, Mo. — A man was charged in the stabbing of a woman and a bakery employee outside of a Moscow Mills business.
Prosecutors on Thursday charged Devin Graves with two counts of armed criminal action and one count each of domestic assault and first-degree assault.
Law enforcement responded at about 9 a.m. Wednesday to a stabbing and a crash in the parking lot of Daddy Ray's commercial bakery at 1070 Industrial Ct., according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities arrived to find a woman stabbed in her abdomen and her right knee and a bakery employee stabbed in his right hand, left knee and the left side of his back when he intervened to protect the woman.
Both victims were rushed to an area hospital, where the man underwent surgery Wednesday.
According to a probable cause statement, a witness said that the night before the stabbing, Graves and the woman had gotten into a verbal argument, which led to an argument between Graves and the witness. Police were called, but the argument had de-escelated by the time they arrived, and Graves packed a bag and left for the night.
The next day, the woman drove the witness to work to get his car, which had previously broken down. On his way to work, he thought he saw Graves' vehicle, which he mentioned to the woman.
Once they arrived at work, the witness got into his car and tried to leave. That's when he saw Graves pull into the parking lot and drive his vehicle into the front driver side of his car, setting off the airbags in the witness' car.
The witness said he then got out of his car. Graves also got out of his car and showed the witness a knife.
The woman then went across the parking lot, and the witness said he got Graves to put the knife away, at which point Graves saw an officer in a police vehicle approaching. That's when Graves got into the woman's car and sped through the parking lot and over to the woman.
The woman told police Graves hit her on the head and started stabbing her, telling her he wanted her to die.
The witness said once he got over to the pair, Graves had already stabbed the woman and the bakery employee who had tried to intervene.
Body camera footage from the officer showed him running to the group as Graves was on top of the victim and the bakery employee was trying to pull him off of her. The officer was able to take Graves' knife after pepper spraying him and then handcuffed him.
He immediately began first aid on the woman as she said, "I don’t want to die, I’m gonna die, I don’t know why,” and asked for someone to call her father, saying, “I don’t want him to hurt my dad or stepmom.”
The witness said neither Graves nor the woman knew the employee who was stabbed.
The bakery employee told police from the hospital that he is a facility maintenance worker for the business and had been radioed to check on a car accident on the parking lot. He arrived to see the woman being stabbed and intervened.
Several other witnesses corroborated that account of what happened on the parking lot.
"I asked Graves to tell me what happened, and he responded saying, 'No,'" the detective who interviewed Graves wrote in her probable cause statement. "Graves stated it was on video and he didn’t want to talk. I advised Graves that I was aware the police were called to his residence the night prior. I asked Graves if this altercation was a result of the previous night and Graves indicated it was. I asked Graves if he loved victim one and he shrugged his shoulders. I asked Graves if he knew what the status of victim one was and he responded saying he was sure she was fine. Graves continued to ask to go to a jail cell so he could lay down. Graves requested an attorney, and I ended the interview."
Graves was being held without bond at the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. His next court appearance was set for Feb. 8.
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