A 25-year-old deaf man described in court documents as a “transient” faces the potential for more permanent lodging in Wyoming, accused of plunging a knife into the back of a 55-year-old man last week.
William C. Autery is set for a preliminary hearing in Cheyenne Circuit Court on Friday on charges of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated robbery with serious injury.
Court records made available Friday show that Cheyenne police officers found the stabbing victim in the parking lot of the Wyoming Motel in the 1400 block of West Lincolnway at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6.
The victim told officers he had been stabbed about two hours prior and had crawled there from an area in the 1200 block of West Lincolnway.
The victim told police he was unable to move his legs.
The 55-year-old told police he had been sitting in an area between a business and the railroad tracks when he was approached by a tall man with a red beard wearing a hoodie who attempted to take his backpack and sunglasses.
The younger man told the 55-year-old that he was deaf.
“(The victim) tried to grab his bag back from the suspect,” a police affidavit states. “The two engaged in a brief altercation over the bag, at which time (the victim) felt a sharp pain in his back.
The older man "fell to the ground and could not feel his legs,” the affidavit says
Claims Self-Defense
The affidavit states the victim was taken to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center and then sent to the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colorado.
He was diagnosed with a spinal cord injury due to the stabbing, which left his left leg paralyzed and right leg with limited movement.
Police found Autery at a truck stop in the 12000 block of Deike Court east of Cheyenne at 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 7.
He told police he was waiting for someone to pick him up so they could leave the area.
When officers told him he was being detained for the stabbing the previous night, Autery “shook his head in acknowledgement and motioned to his boot.”
In the boot, “Officers found a K-Bar-style fighting knife,” the affidavit states.
At the police station, Autery typed out on a computer that “he wanted to claim self-defense in the altercation” and requested an attorney.
Autery’s bond was set at $1 million cash, and he remains in the Laramie County Detention Center.
If convicted, the attempted murder charge is punishable by 20 years to life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The aggravated robbery charge carries between five and 25 years in prison and a potential $10,000 fine.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
