Stillwater man accused of stabbing driver in vehicle
Sep. 23—A Stillwater man is being accused of stabbing while being a passenger in a car.
According to the Stillwater Police Department, the woman's current condition is unknown. She was not identified in the report. SPD said she was taken to Stillwater Medical Center and then transported to a metro hospital.
In a news release sent Thursday, SPD said James Robert Kerns was arrested as a suspect in the assault. SPD said a passenger who fled from a vehicle Wednesday morning alerted the police to the assault. According to the report, the people were driving around the 700 block of East 12th Avenue just before 10 a.m. when the assault took place.
"The initial investigation determined that the assault occurred while the victim was driving in the area of Couch Park," the report reads. "The suspect, James Kerns, was in a verbal altercation with the female driver. During the verbal altercation James allegedly stabbed the driver in the neck. The vehicle pulled into a parking lot in the 700 block of E. 12th and a passenger fled from the vehicle."
Kerns fled the parking lot, but was later arrested near 1100 S. Adams shortly before 11 a.m., according to SPD.
Official charges have not yet been filed. Kerns has a history of drug possession, according to court documents.
