Bluffton resident stabbed man during a fight over a woman, police say

A Bluffton resident was arrested after allegedly stabbing a man during a fight over a woman, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Robert Wilson, 59, was charged Thursday morning with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, jail records show.

The stabbing took place March 17, when Wilson arrived “unannounced and unwelcome” to a home on Bluffton’s Gibbet Road, according to Sgt. Danny Allen, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Breaking through a locked door, Wilson entered the house and began arguing with the victim.

As the two men stepped outside, Wilson started the fight by punching the victim in the face, according to the police report.

That’s when Wilson pulled out a pocketknife and pinned the victim to the ground, stabbing him in the back, shoulder and arm before fleeing, Allen said.

The victim was taken to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, where he was treated and released, the report says.

The argument began because Wilson had unrequited romantic feelings for the victim’s female roommate, the roommate told police.

Wilson also sought treatment for his injuries from the fight at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. He turned himself in to the sheriff’s office Thursday morning after learning of his arrest warrant, Allen said.

Under South Carolina law, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The charge is a lesser offense of attempted murder.

As of Thursday afternoon, Wilson was in custody at the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

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