SKOWHEGAN — A local man who claims he was the target of racial slurs Wednesday was arrested for allegedly cutting the person who made the comments in the neck with a medical scalpel, police said.

The victim was treated at a local hospital and released.

Charles Adam Fairley, 33, of North Avenue, Skowhegan, was arrested just after 6 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of aggravated assault, a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted, interim Skowhegan police Chief Joel Cummings said Thursday.

Fairley is being held in lieu of $50,000 cash bail pending his initial appearance in court on Friday, according to an intake officer at the Somerset County Jail in East Madison.

Cummings said Fairley lives in an apartment on North Avenue with his girlfriend. He said the girlfriend’s daughter lives upstairs in the same building with her boyfriend. When the victim and his girlfriend arrived at the apartment house, he “started taunting Charles by yelling out the ‘N’ word multiple times,” according to Cummings. Fairley came out to confront the 23-year-old man and they argued in front of the apartment house.

“Charles made a swiping motion to the victim with a concealed scalpel,” Cummings said. “He swiped at his neck.”

Cummings said verbal provocation does not allow somebody to “make a death move” like that. He said there was no report of illegal drugs or alcohol involved.

He said the victim did not realize immediately that he had been cut, but when he put his hand to his neck, “it came back all bloody.” The victim called 911 and jumped in their car and drove to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan to be examined. Police arrived and arrested Fairley.

Fairley was arrested on North Avenue in October on a charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon — a knife. Residents told police at the time that Fairley had threatened another man who lived on Madison Avenue.

Officers determined that nobody had been attacked with the knife and there were no injuries, but police charged Fairley with criminal threatening. Somerset County Sheriff’s deputies also responded to assist Skowhegan officers at the scene.

The District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute that case, Cummings said. He said Fairley does not have a criminal record other than a 2005 charge of driving while his license was suspended, of which he was found not guilty.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow