City police arrested a man early this morning after he stabbed the host of the party he was attending six times in the back, according to the Cortland Police Department.
Sam Cuyler II, 40, of 20 ½ Charles St., was arrested alongside his girlfriend — Nicole L. Wood, 36, of 20 ½ Charles St. — after police determined Wood slapped, hit and kicked the host’s girlfriend, said Lt. Michael Strangeway.
Cuyler stabbed the man with a metal knife affixed to a set of brass knuckles, called a knuckle knife, said Strangeway. The host did not suffer damage to his vital organs despite the significant stab wounds, was treated at Upstate University Hospital and released this morning, he said.
Police were called about 2:40 a.m. to a Floral Avenue residence for a disturbance at a small social gathering, said Strangeway. The host had asked Cuyler, Wood and another male guest to leave, ending the party, he said. Cuyler and Wood argued with the host and his girlfriend, refusing to leave, said Strangeway.
“The argument turns physical and when it does Sam Cuyler draws out a metal knuckle knife,” he said. “It’s illegal to even have one.”
Cuyler began wildly swinging the four-inch knife, slicing the hand of the other 40-year-old man attending the party, said Strangeway. Cuyler also began stabbing his host.
“He stabs the 39-year-old six times in the back,” said Strangeway.
While Cuyler was stabbing the host, Wood started attacking the host’s girlfriend, he said.
After the attack, Cuyler attempted to get rid of the knife by throwing it several yards at a bush, said Strangeway. But the knife bounced off the bush’s branches and landed on the sidewalk a number of houses down, he said.
Police arrived at the Floral Avenue residence just as Cuyler was getting into a car to leave, said Strangeway. Cuyler and Woods were arrested at the scene, while an assisting Cortland County Sheriff’s Sergeant found the folding knuckle knife on the sidewalk, he said.
While investigating at the home, officers discovered another set of brass knuckles, said Strangeway. No one has claimed possession of the illegal weapon or stated the other set of brass knuckles was used in the attack.
Cuyler was charged with two counts of second-degree assault, felonies. Woods was charged with harassment, a violation.
Cuyler was waiting to be arraigned this afternoon in City Court.
