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Tonya Papanikolas Reporting"He was very strung out on methamphetamines and he felt like he was cornered on the defensive end, so he started stabbing people."
A witness says he watched two people get stabbed after an argument over the sale of a pickup truck. Officers are still looking for that suspect today, after a false lead yesterday.
Terry Casper was the first victim, stabbed in the chest. He's been released from the hospital. The second man, Shalto Baney, had a slicing wound in his forearm. He is in critical but stable condition and requires surgery.
Before 6:00 pm yesterday, Jeff Giles says he went with a friend to settle a deal on a truck he'd sold to an acquaintance, Scott Henley, who was recently in jail. When they showed up outside this business in West Valley, they got in an argument with Henley.
Captain T. McLachlan, West Valley Police: “Apparently there was some disagreement over whether the terms of the purchase had been met."
Giles says Henley slapped his friend, others tried to subdue him.
Jeff Giles, Witnessed Stabbing: “They grabbed him by the arms; when they grabbed him by the arm is when he went on the defensive and stabbed him."
Giles' friend was stabbed in the chest. Another man ran to help.
Jeff Giles, Witness: “A gentleman grabbed him by the arm and asked him to leave quietly, and he spun around and stabbed him in the arm."
The second victim had a deeper wound and was eventually transported to University Medical Center. The suspect took off on foot, or at least that's what officers first thought.
Sgt. Steve Angell, West Valley Police: “We were told the suspect was initially leaving on foot, then we received additional information that he possibly left in one of the victims' vehicles."
In fact, it was the grey Dodge pickup in question. When officers saw a white Ford pickup in the same area, they went after the driver. He took off, leading them on a chase with speeds reaching up to 80 miles an hour. In the end he crashed and the driver was arrested on unrelated charges. It turned out he was not the stabbing suspect. Now police are working to find him.
Capt. T. McLachlan, West Valley Police: “He goes by the name of “mississippi”, it's a street term or street name. He's got a heavy southern accent."
The witness told KSL the suspect is schizophrenic and was on drugs. Police could not confirm that, but say there were reports he had been acting strange.
He is described as 40-years old with a thin build and heavy tattoos on both arms.
