Man, 61, charged with murder in Maplewood stabbing
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. -- A 61-year-old man is facing murder charges in connection to a stabbing late last month in an eastern Twin Cities suburb.
Kevin Dwayne Peterson is charged in Ramsey County with two counts of second-degree murder in the killing of 30-year-old Richard Williams.
According to a criminal complaint, the stabbing happened on July 29 in a Maplewood apartment building on the 300 block of Larpenteur Avenue East. First responders found Williams at the scene, bleeding profusely from multiple stab wounds in his chest.
An ambulance brought Williams to Regions Hospital, where he was rushed into emergency surgery. More than a week later, he died on Aug. 9. A medical examiner listed his cause of death as multiple sharp force injuries.
Witnesses told investigators that Peterson stabbed Williams during a fight and fled on a motorcycle. While the stabbing wasn't recorded on surveillance video, the argument leading up to the fight was recorded on a cellphone.
The cellphone video showed Williams and Peterson yelling at each near Peterson's motorcycle, the complaint states. While Peterson was brandishing a pocket knife, Williams swiped a cigarette from Peterson's mouth, and Peterson responded by slashing at Williams.
While witnesses tried to break up the two, Williams threatened to beat up Peterson, and Peterson told Williams to get away from him, the video showed. The two continued to argue until the end of the recording, which did not capture the fatal stabbing.
Police arrested Peterson shortly after the stabbing at his Maplewood home. While in the squad car, Peterson allegedly told officers that Williams hit him twice in the mouth.
"If I would've had a pistol I should have just shot him," Peterson said, the complaint states. "I'm going to jail."
In an interview with police, Peterson said Williams hit him in the face and was threatening to beat him up, the complaint states. He added that he didn't know what he was supposed to do.
If convicted of the second-degree murder charge, Peterson faces up to 40 years in prison. Peterson remains in custody at the Ramsey County Jail.
