Shreve

An Ashville, NY man who faces charges of attempted homicide for a Dec. 22 stabbing was held four court after a lengthy preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Pennsylvania State Police troopers were dispatched at 1:36 a.m. on Dec. 22 to a report of a fight between Michael C. Shreve, 22, and the alleged victim at the Bucket Cafe, 14 Main St. in Sugar Grove Borough.

“While (en route) to the initial call, we received a second call stating that there was a second altercation and that one of the males had been stabbed and that the (defendant) then fled the scene in a ‘red Pontiac,'” police allege.

Shreve – out on $100,000 bail posted on Dec. 28 – faces charges of criminal attempt – criminal homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, flight to avoid apprehension/trial/punishment, three counts of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, tamper with/fabricate physical evidence and two counts of harassment.

Two witnesses, the victim’s father and a state trooper testified during the hearing before District Justice Raymond Zydonik.

Testimony revealed that Shreve’s current girlfriend had previously dated the alleged stabbing victim.

The first witness testified to seeing Shreve and the alleged victim approach each other outside the bar, saw the victim fall and saw that he was bleeding.

The two had been using an “angry” tone in their discussion and she testified that she saw “blood streaming down (the victim’s) neck.”

She testified that Shreve asked the victim “How does that feel?” as she then held the victim’s coat to his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding. As Shreve was being driven away the witness alleged that he said “I hope you (expletive) bleed to death.”

She reported a confrontation earlier in the evening where the victim had struck Shreve and knocked him to the ground.

She also testified that the two “just don’t get along. Usually it gets broken up… before anything actually happens” and further testified that Shreve didn’t want to go to the bar that night because the alleged victim might be there.

“I never saw the knife at all,” she said. “I never actually saw the wound itself.”

The second witness also testified hat Shreve was injured in a prior altercation, which included the alleged stabbing victim punching Shreve in the face.

She corroborated testimony on the relationship between the victim and Shreve.

“(I’ve) heard all kinds of stories,” she said. “There’s been so many incidents between them.”

She testified the alleged victim was shouting at Shreve’s girlfriend and reported that she saw the knife while trying to separate the two combatants.

She also stated that Shreve made a comment about hoping the alleged victim would “bleed out” and said that Shreve tried to persuade her that the incident was self-defense.

The victim’s father testified that the stabbing victim remains hospitalized and testified that a doctor told them that the injury would have been fatal if it penetrated 5 mm more.

He testified that his son is “confused” about things at this stage.

Josh Nordin, trooper with the Pennsylvania State Police, discussed contacting Shreve after the incident and finding the knife in a thicket.

He testified that Shreve admitted that it was his knife. It was found by a K-9 officer out of New York.

Shreve’s attorney, Christopher Capozzi, argued that several of the charges should be dismissed.

He suggested the criminal attempt – criminal homicide charge should be dismissed because the Commonwealth hadn’t proved the intent to meet the element of the charge.

That includes the desire to take life and Capozzi said we “don’t have that here.”

“When you stab someone in the head,” District Attorney Rob Greene countered, “what other intent do you have but to kill them?”

He noted Shreve’s alleged remark to the victim while driving away and said that “if that’s not intent, I don’t know what is.”

Zydonik then bound the case over to the next level of court on all charges.

Greene declined to comment when asked if the victim might face charges from this incident.