Lexington detective: Men got into fight with woman, returned to scene and stabbed her

Two suspects accused of stabbing a 28-year-old woman first assaulted the victim and later returned to the scene to further assault her, according to court testimony given by a detective Friday.

Hunter Townsend, 25, and Keith Merritt, 52, are both facing charges of first degree assault in connection to the incident, according to court records. Both were booked into the Fayette County Detention Center the evening of Jan. 5.

According to testimony from Detective Christopher Ward with the Lexington Police Department, officers were dispatched to the Dollar Tree on Versailles Road just after 3 p.m. on Jan. 3 for a report of a subject down with blood on them. When officers arrived, paramedics were administering care to a woman suffering from multiple stab wounds.

The woman was stabbed in the hand, torso and possibly the neck, Ward said Friday. Court documents indicated her injuries were life-threatening but Ward did not provide an update on the woman’s medical status during Friday’s preliminary hearing.

The stabbing happened after an earlier physical altercation between the woman and the suspects, according to Ward. Surveillance footage from a surrounding business showed the woman walking out in front of a green pickup truck at the exit of a nearby car wash.

After that happened, there was a disagreement and then a fight ensued between the woman and the occupants of the green pickup truck, later identified as Townsend and Merritt, Ward said.

The woman and the individuals in the truck left the scene after the altercation. Approximately 10 minutes later the truck returned to the area and pulled up behind a nearby Dollar Tree, where the woman was. That is when the stabbing is believed to have occurred, according to Ward.

“When the truck pulls to the rear of the Dollar Tree, you can see a male driver exit the vehicle. He quickly rushes to the side of the building,” Ward said. “That’s out of camera view, but a minute or two later, you can see the truck exit the parking lot and flee on Versailles Road.”

Two days after the incident, Ward spoke with the woman at the hospital. The woman said she was stabbed by Merritt in the hand and knocked to the ground, according to Ward. She alleged that moments later, Townsend stabbed her multiple times.

Flock cameras, which are cameras that read license plates to aid investigators, were able to locate the truck later the evening of the stabbing, Ward said. The vehicle was registered to Townsend, according to Ward. The driver of the truck on surveillance footage matched a physical description of Townsend, Ward said.

The woman identified Townsend through a photo array, according to Ward.

After his arrest, Townsend admitted to the stabbing and his story matched the surveillance footage, according to Ward.

“He described intentionally going out and seeking out the victim with the intent to engage in another altercation, with the stabbing occurring at that time,” Ward said.

A witness who knew Townsend and Merritt identified Merritt as the second suspect from surveillance footage, according to Ward. After his arrest, Merritt admitted to being present during the stabbing and pulling out a knife but said he did not stab the woman, Ward said.

Merritt also admitted that it was his and Townsend’s intent to assault the woman when they returned after the first altercation, according to Ward.

Police never recovered Townsend’s knife. Townsend told detectives they threw the knife somewhere on New Circle Road after the stabbing, according to Ward.

Fayette District Judge Melissa Murphy, who presided over Friday’s preliminary hearing, determined there was probable cause in Townsend and Merritt’s cases and sent them to a grand jury. A grand jury will determine whether there is enough evidence to indict the men, which would send their cases to Fayette Circuit Court where a trial could take place.

Townsend’s $15,000 bond was left in place by Murphy, but Murphy did lower Merritt’s bond to $1,500. Murphy said if Merritt is released on bond, he must not contact the victim and he must maintain employment from his residence.