Court documents: Man stabbed after defendant accused him of beating 2 women

IDAHO FALLS — Eighteen-year-old Devon Arias allegedly stabbed an older man in a parking lot because Arias wanted him to stop abusing his girlfriend and her mother, according to court documents.

Officers responded to an incident Tuesday around 10:20 a.m. after a man called police and said he had been stabbed in the back. According to court documents, the victim told officers that he had arrived at the 500 block of North Fanning to drop off a cell phone to a relative.

The victim said he was confronted by Arias and one other man.

Arias told police he wanted to confront the victim because he had been hurting women he cared about, according to court documents. Arias said he knew the victim had beaten and frightened them recently, and he felt he needed to prevent him from doing it again.

The victim said as he was trying to leave the scene, one of the men grabbed his backpack and started hitting the victim in the face with it. Officers noted in documents that the victim had injuries on his face.

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Arias said he and the other man got the victim on the ground. The other man kicked the victim in the stomach. That’s when Arias allegedly “poked (the victim) with the knife” in the back. Arias said the steak knife went in about an inch.

When detective interviewed Arias, he told them he stabbed the victim because he was scared the victim had a gun.

Witnesses told officers the victim had been attacked by two men. They said they saw him go down after being hit. They asked if he was OK and he responded that he had been stabbed. He asked them to call 911, and that is when Arias and the other man ran off.

According to documents, paramedics found the stab wound missed the victim’s kidney and any major blood vessels, but they advised him to go to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for further medical treatment. The victim agreed and went with paramedics to the hospital.

Officers spoke to a woman who said her company manages the apartments there. She reportedly told officers that the victim had been reported for squatting and causing disturbances at the apartment complex in the past. She said she was there because tenants had complained about a lot of noise and foot traffic.

According to documents, officers did speak to the other man who told them the victim threatened to get a gun from his backpack, and he said that is why he took it and hit the victim with it. He told officers he was trying to get the victim to leave and that is when Arias came up and allegedly stabbed the victim.

No details were available as to whether the other man had been arrested or charged in connection with this case.

The victim told officers that he did not have a gun. When officers searched his backpack they did not find one either. EastIdahoNews.com has not verified Arias’ claims that the victim had been abusing the women.

Arias is facing one charge of aggravated battery by use of a deadly weapon, a felony. He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing June 20.