Knife attack by Scott City man is fatal

SCOTT CITY -- "A little shindig" a Scott County resident said some young people were having in a remote area of the county Friday night turned deadly when Chad L. Chaney, 23, of Scott City was fatally stabbed. Five others were wounded in the ensuing fight, including the man accused of stabbing Chaney.

Robert L. Grant Jr., 21, of 1040 Oak St. in Scott City is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and four counts of felony assault. Grant is currently in a Cape Girardeau hospital with a broken hand and facial injuries, and will be transferred to the Scott County Jail upon his release. He will be held without bond.

According to Capt. Jerry Bledsoe of the Scott County Sheriff's Department, the sheriff's office received a call around 12:30 a.m. Saturday about the incident that happened in the area between Scott City and the SEMO Port Authority. Witnesses told investigators that Grant had stabbed five people then fled into the woods. He was taken into custody a short time later at a nearby residence and then transported to the hospital.

One stabbing victim, Donald J. Brooks II, 20, said that between 15 and 25 people were partying in that area when Grant appeared, apparently uninvited and started making advances toward two of the women there.

"We had not seen him before," Brooks said. "Nobody knew him. He just showed up out of nowhere."

One of the women told Brooks and one of his friends that Grant was bothering her. She asked them to make Grant stop.

According to Bledsoe's report, Grant became upset when Brooks spoke to him, and he stabbed Brooks in the stomach area with a knife. After Brooks fell to the ground, Grant stabbed him a second time in the back.

"He missed my spine by a half inch," Brooks said.

Chaney, who is Brooks' cousin, went to Brooks' aid. Grant allegedly stabbed Chaney twice in the upper left chest. Chaney died on the way to the hospital.

Brooks said he didn't think the incident over the women triggered Grant's rage; he said he thought Grant just came there looking for a fight.

Bledsoe said he was unaware of the results from any toxicology tests possibly done on Grant.

Three other men at the gathering attempted to subdue the suspect after Chaney and Brooks were stabbed. Josh A. Crowden, 19, Josh U. Howell, 21, and Jeremy L. Curd, 18, all of Scott City, also suffered stab wounds. Howell and Curd received numerous lacerations to their hands and wrists, Bledsoe said, and remain in the hospital. Crowden was treated for a stab wound to the left shoulder and released. Brooks had emergency surgery, he said, and was released early Saturday evening.

Brooks said that after he and his cousin were wounded, he dialed 911 on his cell phone to call an ambulance. He said he heard Grant call the police at the same time before running from the scene.

"He said, 'I just stabbed some people and I don't know if they're dead or not,'" Brooks said.

According to Bledsoe, after Grant ran away, Brooks carried Chaney to a nearby car, despite his own injuries, so the driver could meet the ambulance. Chaney apparently died before the car reached the ambulance.

Bledsoe said the area where the incident took place is a well-known party area, one that authorities keep an eye on. Because it's so remote, he said, it's difficult to stop parties and illegal activity there completely.

"It's out in the middle of nowhere," he said. "We try to keep an eye on it, we drive through as much as we can. It always has been a party area. No matter what we do, they keep going out there."

Brooks acknowledged there was drinking going on there that night, "but that's no excuse for stabbing people."

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160