 "Photo: Courtesy Amherst Police Department")
A University of Massachusetts student pleaded innocent to a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a knife) after being accused of stabbing an Amherst College student at an Amherst College dormitory Sunday morning.
Marcus Smith, 21, of 5 Codman Park, Apt. 3, Roxbury, Mass., a sociology major at UMass, was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown on Monday and will be held without bail until his pre-trial hearing on March 12.
According to a probable cause statement by Amherst police Sgt. Brian Johnson, the victim, 20-year-old Issac Cameron “received six to seven stab wounds to his abdomen, back and neck areas.”
Police initially responded to a report of a double stabbing at Crossett Dormitory on Sunday at around 1:10 a.m. and found Smith, also injured, in the building’s basement bathroom.
“Smith stated that he had been involved in a fight with an unknown male and as a result of this fight had been stabbed in the hand,” said Johnson’s report. “Smith then showed me a wound to the back of his left thumb, which was a deep, clean laceration approximately three-fourth inches in length.”
The report said Smith was wearing a purple T-shirt and a white undershirt which were “heavily stained with blood in several places,” though police observed no additional wounds than the one on Smith’s hand.
“I asked Smith if he knew who had stabbed him, and he stated he did not,” wrote Johnson. “I asked him for a description of his assailant, and Smith stated he could not provide one, and that he never saw a knife.”
According to Johnson, when searched by police, no weapons were found on Smith’s person.
“Smith stated that he became involved in an argument with an unknown individual over a girl he was dancing with,” the report said. “Smith stated he was punched in the nose by this person.”
One witness, 18-year-old Cory Atkins, a freshman at Amherst College, was interviewed at the scene.
“Atkins stated that he witnessed a dark-skinned male wearing a purple and black shirt with a purple or black baseball hat involved in a physical altercation with his friend, Cameron,” said Johnson’s report. “Atkins did not see a knife used…[he] positively identified Smith as the individual he had witnessed fighting with Cameron.”
Cameron was transported by the Amherst Fire Department to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., where he was in fair condition, said police.
Smith was brought to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton where he was treated for his hand injury and released into police custody afterwards, officials said.
Prior to his arraignment, Smith was held at the Hampshire County House of Correction in lieu of $25,000 cash bail.
Johnson’s report said the bail was $50,000.
Court documents provided a statement on why Smith is now being held without bail.
“Given the serious nature of the offense and the injuries sustained during this knife attack, no condition of bail would assure the safety of the victim or the community,” said the document.
The maximum penalty for Smith’s charge is 10 years in prison.
Matt Rocheleau can be reached at mrochele@dailycollegian.com.
