A Chinle man is facing aggravated battery charges after reportedly holding a knife to his girlfriend’s throat in the bushes near a Walmart.
Gallup Patrolman Douglas Hoffman was dispatched to the Walmart area about 3:44 pm Feb. 21 in connection with a report that a domestic dispute involving weapons was currently happening.
When he got to the area, he found a man and woman matching the description given to him walking into the parking lot at Home Depot. When he got in front of the man, identified as Stevenson Gorman, 33, he said the man dropped a large knife to the ground and began walking away from him.
Hoffman said he detained the man and put handcuffs on him. As he did, he noticed the man had wet blood on his fingers. He asked him if he was injured but the man said no.
Another officer at the scene was interviewing the woman, Charmayne Begay, 26, who had blood dripping from her fingers. Hoffman said he called for an ambulance.
Hoffman said he talked to Begay while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. She said she had told Gorman she wanted to break up with him when he pulled out the knife from his backpack and stuck it in her stomach.
Gorman started to stab her in her stomach, she said, when she grabbed it to pull it away from her, she got a cut on one of her fingers. Gorman then pushed her causing her to fall into the bushes, she said, adding that he then got on top of her and placed the knife to her throat.
He then told her if she made a sound or tried to move, he was going to cut her up.
After a few minutes, he got up and allowed Begay to get up and they began walking to the Home Depot parking lot, which was when police arrived.
When MedStar personnel arrived on the scene, they found that the knife had not punctured her stomach but she was treated for cuts to her finger and a small one to her neck. Gorman was charged with aggravated battery on a family member and false imprisonment.