A 42-year-old man is accused of stabbing his mother to death and then stabbing a police officer in the eye. The case has now moved to court, where a judge found probable cause to hold him on serious charges. According to authorities, the man was ordered held on 5 million dollars bail as the investigation continues. The two events, the killing and the attack on the officer, are tied to the same violent night.
The incident happened on Monday just before midnight at the Cedar Terrace Apartments. When officers arrived at the scene, they found broken glass and the man running away from the area. Police immediately took off after him as he fled. The situation escalated quickly from that first response into a pursuit and a further attack.
Investigators say the man's mother was found dead inside a nearby apartment. The man is accused of the stabbing death of his mother, which prosecutors are treating as a killing within the family. It was this death that brought officers to the apartment complex in the first place. The circumstances of what happened inside the home are part of the ongoing case.
As police chased the man, that is when they say he stabbed one of the officers in the eye. The injured officer, identified as Officer Kapila, had to undergo several surgeries as a result of the attack. Video showed the officer leaving the hospital following the medical treatment. The stabbing of the officer added a second violent felony to the case against the man.
The 42-year-old man appeared in court the following day to face the accusations against him. During that hearing, the judge found probable cause for second-degree murder, domestic violence and first-degree assault. Those charges reflect both the death of his mother and the attack on the police officer. The court's finding of probable cause allows the case to move forward.
Prosecutors claimed that the man admitted to killing his mother while he was being recorded on body camera video. Based on the evidence presented, the judge ordered that the man be held on 5 million dollars bail. The high bail reflects the seriousness of the allegations he now faces. Authorities are continuing to work through the details of the case.