VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Paul Power appeared before a judge Friday morning on multiple charges for allegedly stabbing three people after getting into a fight at a Virginia Beach bar.
The three victims who got hurt in this fight testified before the judge.
The three are all co-workers at a different bar. They said they all went to Kelly's Tavern on Laskin Road after work on the night of June 29.
One of the victims said when they got there, he saw a woman he knew through a co-worker. He said she was sitting up against the wall on the outside deck, talking on the phone to someone else.
He said he waved at her and she acknowledged and gave a slight wave back, but they didn't engage beyond that. After that, the man and his two co-workers enjoyed a beer for the night.
The man said he balled up a bar napkin and tossed it at the same woman to get her attention, so he could wave goodbye while she was still on the phone.
The victim said that's when Power aggressively ran up to him, claiming he threw a cigarette at Power's girlfriend. The victim told the judge he knew the woman was dating Power, but did not know Power well personally.
He went on to say Power started throwing punches and they got into a fight to the point where he restrained Power by wrapping his arms around him and pushing him against the floor.
The victim said Power got back up and kept yelling and cursing loudly in the middle of the business. That's when the victim said another person at the bar, not related to any of the parties involved, tried fighting Power.
The victim said it was likely Power thought the person who tried fighting him had an affiliation with the three co-workers, so he ran at the victim again and they got into a second fight.
The man testified in court, saying a security guard at the bar intervened, restrained Power, and escorted him outside.
The victim said he walked back into the main bar area seconds later where he saw Power running through the side entrance with something in his hand.
In court, the prosecutor showed security footage from Kelly's Tavern, showing a man quickly running around the pool table with something in his hand raised, ready to strike the person standing there, whom the victim identified as himself in the video.
The victim said he had no idea Power had a knife in his hand until he started to feel him strike and stab him in the arms and abdomen. He said he received seven stab wounds and had to spend more than a day in the hospital getting surgery and stitches.
His two co-workers testified, saying they tried breaking up the fight, but also got stabbed as a result of it. One got stabbed in the forearm, hitting an artery, and the other one got a slice to his finger that required stitches.
Power's attorney argued his client acted in a heat of passion, defending his girlfriend, as Power stood quietly in court.
His attorney added the fight started over a "misunderstanding," asking the judge to consider the third charge of malicious wounding as an accident, and not malicious.
The judge said she would leave that decision up to the circuit court judge and certify all the charges, moving the case forward.
Power remains in Virginia Beach City Jail without bond.