Stabbing suspect enters provisional not-guilty plea
Published 5:59 am Friday, June 11, 2010
A 19-year-old woman who left Austin for Chicago after allegedly stabbing a couple has been apprehended and, on Thursday, she entered a provisional not-guilty plea.
Shamanika Marie Sanders made her second appearance in Mower County court on two counts of felony second-degree assault after being apprehended earlier this month. With the provisional not-guilty plea, she is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in September, although the attorneys could reach an agreement before then.
According to a criminal complaint, a 19-year-old male and his 20-year-old girlfriend were attacked by Sanders during an altercation at the girlfriend’s residence on Nov. 20.
Sanders, a 23-year-old male and another 19-year-old female allegedly showed up at the home early in the morning to ask the 20-year-old woman — who is a friend of Sanders’, the complaint states — to drive with them to Chicago.
When the woman turned down the request, Sanders allegedly pulled out a folding knife with a two- to three-inch blade and stabbed the woman.
Her boyfriend jumped in to try to break up the incident, the complaint states, and was also stabbed.
The 20-year-old woman suffered one-inch puncture wounds to both sides of her abdomen, and cuts to her lip and forehead. She was taken to Austin Medical Center, where a doctor deemed the injuries to constitute “substantial bodily harm.”
The 19-year-old male also suffered puncture wounds to his abdomen and cuts on his right hand.
Sanders and the two others left after the incident, according to a witness.
The witness said they had arrived in a gray Chevrolet Trailblazer with Texas plates, which the witness said belonged to the 19-year-old female’s ex-boyfriend.
The witness also said that Sanders had been living at Sterling Court Apartments but had likely left for Chicago.
Police checked the apartments and found no one.
Police later spoke with the 19-year-old’s mother, who said her daughter had stopped at home at around 1 a.m. on Nov. 20 — shortly after the alleged incident — and then left with Sanders for Chicago.
