Police arrest two after three receive knife wounds
Two suspects are in custody after an attack outside a local nightspot over the weekend left three victims with serious knife wounds.
Two of the victims, Benito Castaneda and Isabel Martinez, remain under treatment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville where they are being treated for stab and slash wounds to the torso. They have been upgraded to stable condition after first being admitted, both in critical condition. A third victim, Juan Jose Rivera was treated at River Park, also for slash wounds to the midsection.
Their alleged assailants, Jose Z. Martinez, 22, and Oscar Rodriguez, 23, are being held at Warren County Jail, charged with aggravated assault. They were both on probation at the times of their arrests Monday night. Martinez is also charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
According to Sheriff Jackie Matheny, the victims said they were “jumped” as they exited Jack’s Club. All three men suffered stab wounds during the resulting altercation in the club parking lot.
Following the stabbings, the suspects reportedly fled the scene in a vehicle, but crashed a short way down the road. The suspects then abandoned the wrecked vehicle and ran away on foot.
Meanwhile, the victims attempted to drive to the hospital for treatment and were met by deputies on the road to the bar. The victims signaled deputies by flashing their headlights. The men were found bleeding profusely from their wounds inside the vehicle and were later rushed to River Park, from where two of the victims were transferred to Vanderbilt.
“This was a pretty bad cutting,” said Matheny. “It was touch and go at least for one of them for a while.”
The chain of events which led to the assault remains under investigation as lawmen are waiting to talk to the two most seriously injured victims once their condition improves. Matheny noted there could be more arrests before the probe is complete.