A late-night fight between two men left one hospitalized and the other behind bars, the Santa Barbara Police Department reported Thursday.
Officers called to the 500 block of Olive Street shortly before midnight Wednesday found Cody James Fairfax-Castleberry, 21, of Santa Barbara on the west sidewalk with a stab wound to the right side of his chest, according to Sgt. Riley Harwood.
He was treated at the scene by firefighters and paramedics, then transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was recovering Thursday, Harwood said.
Witnesses and surveillance video identified the suspect as Malik Dion Harris-Ellis, 19, of Santa Barbara, Harwood said, adding that the two men are acquaintances.
Harris-Ellis was arrested and booked at Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, and destruction or concealment of evidence, a misdemeanor. Bail was set at $30,000.
Harris-Ellis was attending a party outside an apartment complex on the 400 block of East Cota Street when Fairfax-Castleberry arrived, highly intoxicated, and challenged Harris-Ellis to fight, Harwood said
A fistfight ensued, characterized by moments where Harris-Ellis would dodge punches thrown by Fairfax-Castleberry and even run away, only to be followed by Fairfax-Castleberry, who was intent on fighting, Harwood said. After several minutes of this behavior, Harris-Ellis went into a nearby house where he knows some of the residents, retrieved a kitchen knife, and confronted Fairfax-Castleberry outside.
Harris-Ellis dodged a punch thrown by Fairfax-Castleberry, stabbed him, and then fled, discarding the knife on the way, Harwood said.
Detectives arrested Harris-Ellis at his residence on Broadmoor Plaza at about 5:10 a.m., Harwood said. A few hours later, investigators found the knife used in the stabbing on the roof of a building on the 500 block of East Cota, Harwood said.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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