Latest News, News By Becca Robbins
The Columbian
A judge set bail Wednesday at $750,000 for a man who’s accused of stabbing another man about a dozen times last week outside a Washougal home.
Cody J. Slot, 40, appeared in Clark County Superior Court on charges of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault. He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 3.
The victim, identified in court records as Justin Samuel, 27, remains hospitalized, according to Senior Deputy Prosecutor Toby Krauel. Krauel said Samuel suffered a punctured kidney, spleen and lung, as well as a facial laceration. He said Samuel has undergone four surgeries and still has a difficult time speaking.
“It’s a miracle that he survived being stabbed this many times,” Krauel said.
Defense attorney John Terry noted that none of the witnesses in the probable cause affidavit reported seeing the stabbing; he said there’s a possibility the stabbing was self-defense.
Washougal police arrived at 10:52 p.m. Dec. 12 to a house in the 2900 block of Main Street and found Samuel lying on the ground bleeding profusely. Samuel couldn’t speak to officers at the time, and medical personnel took him by ambulance to an area hospital, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Medical personnel told officers Samuel had been stabbed 13 times, mostly in the side and back, the affidavit states.
A woman who lives at the house, identified as Haven Camden, said she had gone inside to check on her daughter, and when she came back outside, she saw Samuel and Slot. Samuel staggered backward, and she said when she yelled at Slot to get off of Samuel, Slot ran to a truck and drove away, court records say. The affidavit states Camden said she did not see the stabbing.
Camden said she formerly dated Slot after they met in Nevada. She said he moved to Washington to continue a relationship with her, and he eventually gave her a ring, according to court records.
At some point, Camden said she no longer wanted to pursue a relationship with Slot, and she put the ring he gave her in her mailbox for him to pick up, the affidavit states.
While at the scene, police seized a baseball cap that Camden said Slot was wearing and a ring. They sent the items to the Washington State Patrol crime lab for analysis, according to court records.
A neighbor approached officers and told them his 10-year-old daughter saw a man hiding near their house when they arrived home prior to police responding. The man immediately ran across the street, the neighbor said. Police had not yet interviewed the child, the affidavit states.
Investigators were able to talk with Samuel on Dec. 13, and he told them he did not know Slot. But, Samuel said he and Camden had contacted Slot about returning the ring. He also identified the truck Slot was driving as a Chevrolet Colorado, court records state.
