Man arrested in double stabbing claims he was ‘blackout drunk,’ police say

Man arrested in double stabbing claims he was ‘blackout drunk,’ police say

(Felicia Martinez, KSL TV)


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SOUTH JORDAN — A recent parolee arrested over the holiday weekend for allegedly stabbing two people in South Jordan said he got “blackout drunk” prior to the attacks, according to police.

Andrew Russell, 27, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of two counts of aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, and unlawful possession of a weapon. Russell “was released early from prison recently due to COVID-19 concerns and is currently on parole,” a police affidavit states.

Russell was scheduled to be released from the Utah State Prison on Sept. 15, but was released on May 7 due to new COVID guidelines, the Department of Corrections confirmed Tuesday.

On Monday, police were called to the University of Utah Health Center in South Jordan on a report of “multiple patients suffering from stab wounds.”

One man was transferred to University of Utah Hospital by medical helicopter and another was taken to Intermountain Medical Center by ambulance, the affidavit states. A third man later drove himself to Jordan Valley Hospital with cuts.

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Both victims “suffered severe, possibly life-threatening injuries consistent with witness accounts of stab wounds. The suspect also suffered several injuries and possibly stab wounds during the altercation,” the affidavit states.

Russell was treated for a stab wound in the back before being arrested. He told investigators that “he started drinking whiskey in the afternoon and got blackout drunk. He said he remembered drinking then waking up in the hospital injured and had no idea what had happened in between,” according to the affidavit.

Police say a fight between Russell and two other men broke out in a South Jordan driveway, and Russell stabbed a 41-year-old man, leaving him with life-threatening injuries, and also stabbed a 23-year-old man.

The trio of men were helping their girlfriends move out of a house at 5897 W. Hill Stone Drive in South Jordan when a disagreement happened and the stabbings ensued, according to South Jordan police spokesman Matt Pennington.

Witnesses told police there were “multiple verbal altercations” and at least two fights leading up to the stabbings.

In July, Russell was sentenced to up to five years at the Utah State Prison on a conviction of failing to respond to police. That sentence was ordered to run concurrent with a one to 15 year sentence handed down in 2017 for convictions of aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery.

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Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

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