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DUCHESNE — A man accused of stabbing a classmate at Duchesne High School in May is facing new charges after deputies say he attacked his sister with a hammer.
Leland Patrick King, 18, is charged in 8th District Court with aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, and domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony.
Duchesne County sheriff's deputies were called to a medical clinic in Duchesne on Aug. 14 after a woman showed up with injuries suffered in an apparent assault, according to Duchesne County Sheriff's Lt. Jeremy Curry.
The woman told deputies that she and King, who is her brother, were arguing because King was not helping her on the family farm. She told investigators King grabbed and pushed her, then picked up a nearby hammer and struck her in the leg, causing her to collapse, Curry said.
King also kicked the woman while she was on the ground, she told deputies. The incident was witnessed by the woman's 9-year-old daughter, Curry said.
At the time of the alleged attack, King was out on bail after a May 14 stabbing at Duchesne High School that left a classmate with critical injuries.
In that case, King is charged with aggravated assault on school premises, a first-degree felony, and possession of a dangerous weapon on school premises, a class B misdemeanor.
Donna King has said her son has the mental capacity of a 14-year-old and has a musculoskeletal disorder that makes him physically weaker than others his age. Those disabilities made Leland King a target for bullying by as many as seven Duchesne High students, including the teen who was stabbed, according to his mother.
Related:
Student accused of stabbing classmate 'tortured' by peers, mother says
The mother of a Duchesne High School student accused of stabbing a classmate three times in May says her son was violently bullied by fellow students due to his mental and physical disabilities.The sheriff's office has declined to comment on Donna King's claims that her son had been bullied beyond saying that detectives are "looking at every aspect of this incident, and this is still an ongoing investigation."
Investigators have executed search warrants on Leland King's car and on his home in Fruitland, Duchesne County. Evidence collected during those searches and at the scene of the stabbing have been sent to the state crime lab for testing.
A three-day jury trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 1 in the Duchesne High School case. Leland King was due in court Monday for an initial appearance in the alleged assault on his sister.
