Man charged after Maryville stabbing victim found with knife in back

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A 20-year-old man is facing a charge of aggravated assault after a 19-year-old was found by police with a knife in his back on April 28, according to an incident report.

The Maryville Police Department report states that the officer arrived at the scene on Silver Creek Lane around 1:45 a.m., where they found a 19-year-old man lying in the front yard of the residence with a knife stuck in his lower back. Several people were on the scene attempting to help the victim, the officer took over and kept the man from moving as much as possible.

The victim was taken to UT Medical Center, and at the time of the report, the officer wrote that the victim was paralyzed and it was undetermined if he would survive.

According to the report, the people at the scene would not cooperate with officers to report what happened at the scene, but the officer learned that the suspect had left in a red Honda.

The Honda was later found at a home on Swarthmore Lane, where the suspect’s mother told police her son was jumped. Maryville Police identified the suspect as Warren Moats, 20, and said that Moats told them that the incident started over “a female” and a fight occurred. Multiple people were allegedly involved in the fight.

Moats allegedly told officers that the fight started upstairs but continued downstairs onto the front lawn and that he retrieved a knife from his car and stabbed the victim in the back before leaving the scene.

The officer noted in the report that Moats’ story changed multiple times, with him stating at one point someone had a gun to his head and he was afraid for his life, but later he said he knew the person would not do anything. Allegedly, Moats told the officer that the gun being pointed at him was why he decided to leave the scene.

After this conversation, the report states that the officer took Moats to Blount Memorial because he said his ribs and hand were broken. The incident report adds that alcohol may have been involved.

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