WATERVILLE — A  Waterville man was arrested early Thursday for allegedly stabbing another man in the shoulder late Wednesday on Western Avenue, according to police.
The stabbing was the sixth to occur in the city within about a month.
“I’m concerned about the stabbings,” police Chief Joseph Massey said Thursday. “Violent crime is certainly a priority for us. I think that each case involved alcohol or drugs or a combination.”
 Demetrio Bautista, 19, of 51 Western Avenue, No. 2, was arrested at 12:30 a.m. Thursday and charged with elevated aggravated assault after allegedly stabbing a 20-year-old man in Bautista’s apartment late Wednesday, Deputy police Chief Charles Rumsey said.
“The victim suffered several lacerations and one puncture would to the back of his shoulder,” Rumsey said.
He was taken to Thayer Campus, MaineGeneral Medical Center, and was believed to have been released as of Thursday afternoon, he said.
Officer Robert Bouley found the victim around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Big Apple Store on Elm Street where Bouley had detained several youths in an unrelated case (the youths were underage and intoxicated, Rumsey said).
“When Bouley was in the parking lot of the Big Apple, a patron exited the store and advised him a male in the store was highly intoxicated and acting suspiciously,” Rumsey said.
Bouley called for backup and police went into the store, discovered the man had been stabbed and was very agitated, disoriented and uncooperative, Rumsey said.
“They took him into protective custody and physically forced him to go to the hospital with Delta Ambulance,” Rumsey said.
Police got information from the victim that led them to 51 Western Avenue, and Bautista, he said.
Police found blood on the stairs leading to the apartment where initially, Bautista did not answer the door, he said.
Detective David Caron was called in to handle the case and conducted interviews, after which Bautista was arrested and charged with Class A felony elevated aggravated assault, which means it presented a serious threat of death, Rumsey said.
“Bautista told Detective Caron that he stabbed the victim because he felt he had been disrespected by the victim,” Rumsey said.
Bautista was taken to the Police Department where he was released on $25,000 unsecured bail. He is scheduled to appear in Kennebec County Superior Court July 10.
The stabbing follows others that have occurred recently:
• April 8, 2012: A man, 26, was stabbed twice in the back during a fight on Spring Street and was hospitalized in critical condition.
• April 26, 2012: Two men were stabbed outside the Chez Paree nightclub in the city’s South End. One man was slashed across the chest so deeply that his ribs were visible; the other man was stabbed in the elbow and groin,  according to Massey. These were the most serious of the six stabbings, he said.
• April 28: A woman suffered minor cuts to her face and extremities after a man forced his way into her home and assaulted her. She was taken to the hospital for treatment.
• May 6, 2012: A man was stabbed in the back outside the Bob-In nightclub on Temple Street downtown during an argument. The victim, whose wounds were described as superficial, refused medical treatment.
Rumsey said that to his knowledge, all of the stabbing victims have been released from hospitals.
In all of the cases, the victims were stabbed with knives, he said.

Amy Calder — 861-9247
acalder@centralmaine.com