Carthage woman to stand trial in stabbing

Jeff Lehr, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·1 min read

Mar. 2—A Carthage woman testified in court Thursday that best friend Nicole L. Mendiola stabbed her repeatedly earlier this year during an argument over repayment of a $10 loan.

Deon Sanders took the witness stand at 33-year-old Mendiola's preliminary hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action to tell how on Jan. 18 she went to Mendiola's home in Carthage to try to reconcile after a falling out over the $10 loan.

But instead the two women got into a physical struggle during which they fell onto a bed. Sanders said her coat got pulled up over her head in the fight so she did not at first realize Mendiola had stabbed her.

"I don't know if I inflicted any injuries on Nicole or not," Sanders told the court.

Detective Trent McMain of the Carthage Police Department was called by Assistant Prosecutor Sharon Gloyer as a second witness for the state. McMain said he believes Sanders was stabbed a total of six times in the neck, stomach and back.

On cross-examination by defense attorney William Fleischaker, the detective acknowledged that Mendiola told him that Sanders entered her apartment without knocking and that Sanders either stepped on or kicked her cat, and that "upset" her.

McMain said the defendant further claimed that Sanders had her on her back on the bed and that she reached for anything on a nearby nightstand to try to get her off her.

"She thought she grabbed a pair of scissors, but apparently she grabbed a knife," McMain said.