A Salem man was arrested Tuesday on charges alleging he stabbed another man sleeping in a car in south Salem ten days earlier.
Prosecutors charged KC W. Blunt, 31, Tuesday with attempted second-degree murder, second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, unauthorized use of a vehicle and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer in Marion County Circuit Court, according to court records.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 5, officers responded to a report of a man suffering from multiple stab wounds in the parking lot of a local tavern in the 4900 block of Southeast Commercial Street, the Salem Police Department wrote in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
The victim, a 27-year-old man, reported he and a friend were sleeping inside his car in the business’s parking lot when he “awoke to a man physically assaulting and stabbing him,” according to the department’s statement. “The assailant tried but was unable to remove the victim from the vehicle and subsequently fled from the scene.”
Police developed evidence during their investigation that led them to identify Blunt as the suspect, Salem police wrote.
Shortly after midnight Tuesday, a Salem officer located a stolen vehicle and discovered Blunt was the driver.
Blunt was arrested and booked into Marion County Jail. Salem police said he is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at the Marion County Criminal Court Annex.
He pleaded guilty Aug. 10 in Marion County Circuit Court to assaulting another man in April, and was sentenced to probation.
In 2016, Blunt pleaded guilty to aggravated first-degree theft and pleaded no contest to third-degree robbery in Jackson County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to five and a half years in prison.
He also pleaded guilty in 2013 to second-degree robbery, and in 2012 pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault in a domestic violence case — both in Jackson County. He was sentenced to a total of two years and three months in prison.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
