Police say four men suffered stab wounds over the weekend in separate knife attacks.
The first reported knife fight left two men injured after a card game was interrupted late Friday night. A black-handled folding pocketknife was retrieved from the scene.
Dispatched to a residence on the 100 block of South Washington Street at 11:33 p.m. on Friday, March 13, police found a 30-year-old man with a severe 5- to 6-inch laceration on his face and neck and a puncture wound on his back. He was taken into surgery after a lung collapsed.
About 3½ hours later, police found the suspect, also bleeding from his left shoulder, at a residence on the 600 block of South Market Street. Robert Espinoza, 45, of Cortez was subsequently arrested and charged with assault. He remained in custody as of Tuesday.
The incident reportedly occurred after a fight between two females earlier in the day, police said.
The second knife attack occurred early Sunday morning at a residence on the 600 block of North Beech Street.
Dispatched to the scene at 5:56 a.m., police found a 24-year-old man with multiple stab wounds to his face and neck. The alleged victim was the same man who was shot and pushed from a moving vehicle after a reported armed robbery near the Ute Mountain Ute Casino in 2013.
About 2½ hours after Sunday morning’s assault, police found and arrested the suspect, Kai Blood, 26, of Cortez at a residence on the 300 block of West Montezuma Avenue. Police said the suspect, charged with first-degree aggravated assault, was in possession of a bloody black folding knife.
A fixed blade black knife with cord tied around the handle was also retrieved from the scene.
Police said Blood reportedly went to the residence to apologize for previously breaking in, when an argument ensued over money. Blood also suffered a black eye and stab wound to the leg. He was out of custody as of Tuesday.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com