Man arrested on assault charges
A 19-year-old Washington man was arrested Sunday night after he allegedly stabbed a Washington man in the thumb and chased a 14-year-old boy near LeMoyne Community Center in East Washington.
Jalene Jeremy Nichols of 910 Fayette St., was charged by borough police with aggravated assault, simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment for allegedly stabbing Matthew Shaw, 43, of Washington, on the thumb during a confrontation.
Police were called to the recreation center about 7:15 p.m. The caller told the dispatcher that another person was chasing her son. When police arrived, they learned Shaw was stabbed in the thumb and the suspect, identified as Nichols, had fled.
The caller’s 14-year-old son was playing basketball with Nichols. Nichols reportedly pushed the boy and the 14-year-old pushed him back, police said. The 14-year-old told police Nichols pushed him to the ground, holding him down.
When the boy’s mother and Shaw arrived at the playground to pick him up, they saw the boy running. The boy’s mother said Nichols had what looked like a kitchen knife in his hand.
When Nichols reportedly told the boy’s mother he was going to stab her, Shaw stepped in front of her and her son. There was a shoving match between Nichols and Shaw and Shaw was stabbed in the thumb.
When police found Nichols, he had blood stains on his shirt but no cuts on him. He told police he tossed the knife near his grandmother’s home in Lincoln Terrace. Borough and South Strabane Township police checked the area and found the knife with a small amount of blood on it.
Nichols was arraigned before District Judge Joshua Kanalis and placed in Washington County jail on $30,000 bond.