Lawrence County man charged with stabbing two men at a gas station dumpster

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) - A Miller, Missouri man has been charged after stabbing two men on Sunday.

According to court records, 55-year-old Thomas Lee has been charged with two counts of first-degree assault and tampering with physical evidence.

Court documents show officers went to a house where a man was sitting on a couch with a stab wound in his left rib and another man on the floor with three stab wounds, two to the left of his ribs and one on his left forearm.

The man on the couch told officers Lee was at a dumpster near Casey’s. The two stabbing victims noticed Lee, and one of them went to talk to him. According to court records, Lee then started stabbing both men.

Lawrence County authorities later went to Lee’s house and arrested him. Officers asked Lee where the knife was, it was found in a ditch just north of his house inside a small Clorox bottle filled with bleach.

Lee told detectives he often goes to the dumpsters at Casey’s because they throw out pizzas and feeds the pizzas to his dogs. Lee said he was at the dumpsters and saw the two stabbing victims walk up. He heard them say, “This isn’t your wife,” and, “I told you it’s not your wife.”

Lee knew one of the men who walked up to him. Lee told detectives the man told Lee to get away from his dumpsters. Lee agreed and was walking toward his car when one of the men started heckling him and flicked a lit cigarette butt at Lee.

According to court documents, a fight broke out between the three men. Lee told detectives he did not remember grabbing his knife but knew he was using it to defend himself.

Lee is being held in the Lawrence County jail without bond. A Bond reduction hearing is scheduled for March 27.

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