A judge on Tuesday sentenced a Washougal man to nearly 11 years in prison for stabbing another man at his former girlfriend’s Washougal home.
A Clark County Superior Court jury convicted Cody J. Slot, 41, in February of first-degree assault but acquitted him of first-degree attempted murder in the stabbing of Justin Samuel, 28, court records show.
When Judge Christine Hayes ordered the 130-month prison sentence, she noted Slot’s lack of recent criminal history but also his lack of remorse and the severity of the attack. She ordered Slot to undergo anger management and mental health counseling.
Slot maintained his innocence and said that the stabbing was in self-defense.
“I just wish everything was fair,” Slot said.
Washougal police arrived at 10:52 p.m. Dec. 12, 2023, to a house in the 2900 block of Main Street and found Samuel lying on the ground bleeding profusely. Samuel couldn’t speak to officers at the time, and medical personnel took him by ambulance to an area hospital, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Medical personnel told officers Samuel had been stabbed 13 times, mostly in the side and back, the affidavit states.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Toby Krauel said at a previous court hearing that Samuel suffered a punctured kidney, spleen and lung, as well as a facial laceration. He said Samuel had undergone four surgeries and still had a difficult time speaking.
A woman who lives at the Washougal house, identified as Haven Camden, said she had gone inside to check on her daughter, and when she came back outside, she saw Samuel and Slot. Samuel staggered backward, and she said when she yelled at Slot to get off of Samuel, Slot ran to a truck and drove away, court records say. The affidavit states Camden said she did not see the stabbing.
Camden said she formerly dated Slot after they met in Nevada. She said he moved to Washington to continue a relationship with her, and he eventually gave her a ring, according to court records.
At some point, Camden no longer wanted to pursue a relationship with Slot, she said, and she put the ring he gave her in her mailbox for him to pick up, the affidavit states.
While at the scene, police seized a baseball cap that Camden said Slot was wearing and a ring, according to court records.
When investigators later talked with Samuel, he told them he did not know Slot. But, Samuel said he and Camden had contacted Slot about returning the ring. He also identified the truck Slot was driving, court records state.
