A 44-year-old Vancouver man stands accused of first-degree assault for allegedly stabbing another man following a road rage incident Tuesday.
Jeffrey W. Talbert made a first appearance Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court. Judge John Fairgrieve set Talbert’s bail at $50,000 and imposed release conditions.
Vancouver police officers were dispatched at 4:09 p.m. to the Gardenview Estates Apartments, 3114 N.E. 57th Ave., for the report of a disturbance with a weapon.
Officers found the victim, 60-year-old Mitchael J. Brock, suffering from a wound near his collarbone on the right side of his body and a severe cut to his left forearm, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Brock told the officers that his assailant had followed him from Northeast 122nd Avenue and Fourth Plain Boulevard to the apartments. He said he did not know the man, but a road rage incident had occurred at the intersection. The affidavit does not further detail that incident.
Upon entering the apartments’ parking lot, the man exited his vehicle with something shiny in his right hand, and then swung the object, striking Brock twice. At that point Brock realized he’d been stabbed, according to the affidavit.
Police retrieved video footage that showed both men got out of their vehicles at the same time. Talbert appeared to approach the victim and made a stabbing motion toward Brock’s shoulder, court records say. Brock tried to defend himself by striking Talbert with a cane, but he was pinned between his open car door and Talbert, who continued to assault him.
Talbert claimed Brock struck the first blow, and said he was trying to defend himself. Once he was shown the video, Talbert admitted he attacked the victim, according to the affidavit. He said he has been diagnosed with anger problems and acknowledged “he had other options available to deal with the road rage situation,” the affidavit says.
An arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 11.
