Woman set for arraignment in Sallisaw stabbing
A Sallisaw woman is charged with a felony count of accessory after the fact after she was found to be driving a man who allegedly stabbed a woman in the face with a pair of scissors.
A Sallisaw woman is charged with a felony count of accessory after the fact after she was found to be driving a man who allegedly stabbed a woman in the face with a pair of scissors.
Valaire Harbison, 19, was charged on August 15 in Sequoyah County District Court and if found guilty of the charge, could face up to 10 years imprisonment. She received a $10,000 bond and is set to appear Wednesday for an arraignment before Associate District Judge Kyle Waters.
Sequoyah County Sheriff Investigators Dwayne Frizzell and Brian Rutherford reported they were dispatched to the Wildhorse Mountain area around 4 p.m. on Aug. 8 regarding a stabbing. There, they met with the victim, who reportedly had two puncture wounds to her right eye and was bleeding.
Deputies Shane Petree, Brian Stone and Michelle Rigsby applied aid to the victim’s wounds while she told authorities what had happened. The victim alleged Harbison and Stephen White Jr. picked her up at the library and then they drove toward Wildhorse Mountain, south of Sallisaw.
The victim said she was riding in the back seat, White was in the front passenger seat and Harbison was driving. She said as they were driving down the road, White turned around in the seat while holding a pair of broken scissors, and then punched her in the face with them, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The victim said White was mumbling and not making any sense, and the attack was reportedly unprovoked. She said Harbison then pulled over and forced her out of the vehicle, according to the affidavit, and she was left on the side of Hwy. 59. She said she made her way to a residence where a call was made to 911.
Frizzell reported as he and Rutherford were searching for a car matching the description of the one the two were in, they saw a gold Honda turning into Ram Trailer Park that had been stopped by Sallisaw Police for a traffic violation. Harbison and White were detained and Frizzell reported seeing a pair of broken scissors next to the front passenger seat where White was reportedly sitting. Blood was also found on White’s seat and on several spots in the rear of the vehicle, according to the affidavit. The two were arrested at that time and transported to the Sequoyah County Detention Center.
Investigators collected blood swabs from the scene, along with the scissors and a smart phone before going back to talk to the alleged victim. Swabs were also taken from the victim to check for comparison to the blood taken from the vehicle.
Sequoyah County court records do not indicate White has been formally charged in the stabbing, but the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s website does show that he was booked into the jail on Aug. 8 on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
