- Mario Lerma Perez, 22, was arrested for allegedly stabbing two people in St. George after being kicked out of a bar.
- Charges include aggravated assault, DUI and weapon possession,
- One victim required emergency surgery; police say Perez resisted arrest.
ST. GEORGE — A man was arrested in St. George early Sunday after police say he stabbed two people at a bar he had just been kicked out of.
Mario Lerma Perez, 22, was charged Monday in 5th District Court with aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, a second-degree felony; aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; being a restricted person in possession of a weapon, a class A misdemeanor; DUI, interfering with police, marijuana possession and carrying a weapon while under the influence, class B misdemeanors; and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle, a class C misdemeanor.
The incident began about 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the One and Only bar, 64 N. 800 East. Perez was asked to leave "because of his level of intoxication. According to staff, he was so drunk that he fell off his chair onto the ground, then when someone tried helping him back up, Mario tried to punch that person," a police booking affidavit states.
But after being kicked out, Perez allegedly drove his vehicle to the front of the bar.
"Mario stated that he felt disrespected by the employees, so he grabbed the knife from his vehicle and was planning on going back into the bar to make them show him some respect. However, he was confronted by the two victims outside the front door to the bar and (Perez) subsequently stabbed one in the arm and the other in the clavicle area," the affidavit alleges.
The man stabbed in the arm had to have a tourniquet applied because of a sliced artery, police said. He was taken to a local hospital for "emergency surgery."
"The other male was more fortunate; however, his injury was near his neck and could easily have been much worse," the affidavit says.
Perez resisted arrest when police arrived, prompting officers to use a Taser before placing him in handcuffs, according to the arrest report.
Police say Perez "appears to have no documentation for being in the United States legally" and was most recently living in Oregon "before finding his way to St. George."
