Inset: Tariq Thomas (Woodbury County Jail). Background: The home on South Lyons Street in Sioux City, Iowa, where the stabbing occurred (Google Maps).
A western Iowa man has been sentenced to a decade in prison for stabbing his cousin in the head following a day of drinking, as reported by authorities.
Tariq Thomas, 24, received a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges of willful injury resulting in serious injury, according to court documents obtained by local NBC affiliate KTIV.
The incident occurred on October 11 in the basement of a home on South Lyons Street in Sioux City, where Tariq and his cousin, 24-year-old Saville Thomas, had been consuming alcohol.
At approximately 6:10 p.m., what began as a verbal disagreement between the two escalated into violence, according to law enforcement officials.
During the altercation, Tariq Thomas reportedly seized a large butcher knife and stabbed Saville Thomas in the left collarbone before forcefully embedding the knife in his head, causing the handle to break off, as detailed in court documents reviewed by the TV station.
“[Tariq Thomas] grabbed a large butcher knife and stabbed the victim in the left collarbone before plunging the knife in the victim”s head hard enough to break the handle off,” court documents reviewed by the TV station read.
Saville Thomas reportedly emerged from the home, leaving blood in his wake, and was stumbling on a different road about a 20-minute walk away from the residence when authorities were notified and made contact with him. The knife blade was still in his head, and he had a wound to his collarbone.
After being picked up by first responders, the stabbing victim was brought to an area hospital and then later transferred to a different hospital. At the second location, he underwent a 6-hour surgery to have the knife blade removed. The victim was eventually released.
Mariah Thomas, 34, was also reportedly at the home. She is believed to have seen the blood and tried to clean it in the basement as well as “wash off the driveway where there was a trail of blood from inside leading to the street,” authorities wrote.
Both the woman and Tariq Thomas were arrested on Oct. 20, at their home.
Mariah Thomas was charged with obstruction of justice, according to a press release issued by the police department. She pleaded not guilty on Oct. 30, and is due in court on Dec. 18, according to KTIV.
