NEWPORT — A Plymouth man was arrested Tuesday on charges that he stabbed two men during the wee hours of the morning, police said.

Both victims, including one who had a serious stab wound to his back, were treated and released Tuesday.

The suspect, George Curtis III, 20, faces a felony charge of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, according to Newport Police Chief Leonard Macdaid.

Curtis was being held Tuesday at Penobscot County Jail in Bangor on $1,000 bail. He’s scheduled to appear in court Sept. 15.

Macdaid said he responded to the call about 2 a.m. Tuesday at the Elm Street Mobile Home Park. An argument between three men — all of whom were drunk — had escalated into a fight that left two 19-year-old men with stab wounds, Macdaid said.

When police arrived, Curtis had fled and the two victims were taken by ambulance to Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield. One man had been stabbed in the back with a knife and his injury was considered serious, but not life-threatening. The other man was stabbed in the hand, Macdaid said.

Police declined to release the victims’ names, though Macdaid said one of the victims was Curtis’ cousin. One victim lived at the mobile home and another lived elsewhere in Newport, Macdaid said.

Maine State Police trooper Ricky Moody arrived with a dog to search for Curtis, but a manhunt wasn’t necessary. Curtis was caught about three hours later when he returned to the mobile home park with a family member.

“We made contact with family members who assisted us in getting him back,” Macdaid said. “His family helped him, talked him into coming back.”

Tuesday afternoon at the mobile home park, two men and a woman declined to comment after answering the door at the home where the stabbing took place. The home’s front door screen was bent and protruding outward and there were several narrow incisions in the door.

Several residents of the mobile home park either said they didn’t know about the stabbing or, if they had, they hadn’t personally heard or seen anything when it happened.

Macdaid said police are trying to find the knife used in the stabbing and establish what the men were fighting about.

“We have a witness,” Macdaid said. “As part of the investigation, we’re re-interviewing people.”

According to court records, Curtis was convicted in May 2008 of driving without a license and was fined $150.

Scott Monroe — 861-9239
smonroe@centralmaine.com

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