A Newton man is now facing multiple attempted first-degree murder charges after he allegedly broke into a home where his girlfriend and her children were staying and attacked the people inside.
Newton Police Lieutenant Scott Powell said Martin Luther King Smith Jr. and his girlfriend were in an argument at the residence they shared Saturday night when she decided to take her two sons and stay at a nearby friend’s home.
Powell said Smith, who had been drinking, went to the home in the 100 block of South East Fifth Street less than 20 minutes later and knocked down the door. Upon his entry, Powell said Smith began stabbing his girlfriend, her 14-year-old son and the friend of his girlfriend with a knife.
Trying to escape, the woman’s 13-year-old son broke a window and cut himself on the glass, Powell said. In the midst of the attack, another man showed up, causing Smith to leave.
While none of the injuries were life-threatening, Powell said the 14-year-old received 14 staples in his head as a result of the attack and one person was treated at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. All have been released from the hospital.
Powell said that soon after Smith left the scene of the attack, he walked into the jail lobby “covered in blood saying he wanted to turn himself in.” When an officer arrived to process Smith, however, Powell said the suspect punched him. The officer was treated and released from the hospital.
So far, Smith is charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated battery and criminal threat. Harvey County Prosecutor David Yoder said he will likely add more charges in the coming days, including child endangerment and battery on a law enforcement officer. Smith is presently held in the Harvey County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
Kansas Department of Corrections records show Smith was convicted in 1995 in Harvey County of aggravated battery and aggravated robbery.
The attempted first-degree murder charge carries a sentence of anywhere from 147 to 654 months in prison.
The Hutchinson News, Hutchinson KS
Kayla Regan March 5, 2014
