Marion County Man Charged in Stabbing Incident in Boone County

A rural Marion County man is accused stabbing another man in Boone County. 29-year-old Travis Smith is facing a felony count of first-degree battery.

The story below from KTLO:

According to the probable cause affidavit, a female contacted Boone County 911 dispatch on the morning of May 5 and said her father had been stabbed in his leg at his residence, and she believed the suspect left on foot. Boone County deputies and emergency personnel were disspatched to the residence southwest of Valley Springs on Aspen Road. The victim was reportedly located in the grass adjacent to the driveway with a puncture wound in his upper right leg.

A Boone County investigator arrived on the scene later and learned deputies identified the suspect as Smith. The victim’s daughter stated another female had come to the residence to bring her some clothing, but no one entered the residence with her. The daughter claimed she heard a disturbance outside, and her father went to investigate. An altercation allegedly broke out, and the victim’s daughter went out to discover he had been wounded with a knife. She stated she used her belt to fasten a tourniquet in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Deputies later went to the residence of the female who brought the clothing, and blood was reportedly located in the rear trunk area of a vehicle in the garage. The witness told a Boone County investigator she had driven Smith to the Aspen Road residence because he was trying to collect money owed to him. She was reportedly inside the residence when the altercation occurred, and when she exited, Smith had left the area on foot.

As she spoke with the investigator, the witness reportedly received a social media message from Smith. She gave the phone to the investigator, and he observed the message saying the suspect acted in self-defense.

Later in the day, Smith agreed via a third party to turn himself into law enforcement, and he was transported to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. In an interview, he claimed he had entered a verbal agreement to provide the boyfriend of the victim’s daughter with an 8-ball, or 3 1/2 grams, of methamphetamine in exchange for the couple retrieving some of his property from the witness’ residence. Smith stated he had given the drugs, but the boyfriend had only retrieved a portion of his belongings.

Smith also claimed the boyfriend owed him approximately $200, but he had only been paid about $40. In the early morning prior to the incident, Smith said he received a social media message from the boyfriend saying, “Come get it,” and he coordinated with the witness to give him a ride to the Aspen Road residence.

Smith said he opted to wait outside while the witness conducted her business and attempted to collect his money. He claimed at one point, he walked away with the intention to leave. He returned to wait for the witness, and during that time, he approached a pickup truck to see if any of his belongings were inside.

Another truck reportedly pulled into the driveway, and Smith says he ducked down to avoid being seen. A male reportedly spotted him and notified the residents he was outside.

The victim reportedly exited the residence and told Smith to leave the property, but he said he couldn’t because the witness’ vehicle was locked. He claims the victim continued to move toward him, and he extended his arm to stop the advancement. Smith alleges the victim tackled him to the ground and began striking him with his fists, and the boyfriend joined in to continue beating him for more than three minutes. He claims he pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed the victim to stop the beating, and he then fled on foot toward Bellefonte Road.

Smith said he later crossed a field to avoid being seen by approaching deputies, threw away the pocket knife and continued on foot to Valley Springs before finding a residence of a nearby acquaintance to spend the night.

The investigator interviewing Smith observed he had visible injuries to his face, including a contact would to his right eye and an abrasion wound on the bridge of the wound. The investigator’s opinion does not support Smith’s claim that he had been beaten by two adult males for multiple minutes.

Smith is currently free on a bond of $20,000. He has another court appearance set for Oct. 31 and a jury trial for Nov. 27.