BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Details about a man who was arrested by police in Fells Point after he allegedly tried to attack two people with a large knife surfaced in court records on Friday.
Police arrested Ben Watson, 33, in the 600 block of South Broadway around 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 6. FOX45 was at the crime scene when officers put handcuffs on Watson and pulled an ornate knife out of his vehicle.
The officers had been investigating a crime that had happened near Broadway Market when a 2014 Infiniti coupe parked next to the crime scene. A woman exited the car and asked them for help. The woman told officers that Watson had tried to get into the car with a knife.
Court records state that a man was behind the wheel of the car when Watson struck the driver’s side window of the vehicle multiple times, and the woman was the passenger during that attack. Police examined the Infiniti coupe and observed marks that indicated the woman’s claim was valid.
That’s when they detained Watson, who had been following the man and woman in a 2010 Nissan Altima. Officers removed him from the vehicle and had him sit on a nearby curb.
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During the course of their investigation, officers were able to determine that the attack had happened in the 1400 block of Bank Street between 10:20 p.m. and 10:25 p.m. That’s when Watson allegedly struck the driver’s side window “multiple times with a large blade leaving marks on it until the blade broke in half,” per court records.
Watson’s charging documents state that he spoke to police about the encounter. He told officers that he and the man “had an argument over money which then resulted in a tussle.” The man and woman claimed that they did not know Watson.
Officers peered into Watson’s car and saw part of the knife that he was accused of using during the attack. One of the officers spotted drug paraphernalia in the vehicle, too, according to the charging documents.
“When looking into the vehicle to see if the blade can be seen myself and other officers observed in addition to the broken in half blade laying on the front passenger seat, in plain view on the driver seat of the Nissan bearing MD tag of 7HC7199 multi-colored pills in a small plastic see through baggie that were indicative of ecstasy,” court records state.
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Watson had an injured hand when police initially detained him. So, they requested an ambulance for him. Two medics showed up at the crime scene to examine Watson’s injury, but he did not want their assistance nor to be taken anywhere in an ambulance, according to the charging documents.
Not long after that, officers placed handcuffs on Watson and put him in the back of a nearby patrol vehicle.
A man displays an injured hand after police detain him in the 600 block of S. Broadway on Tuesday night. (WBFF)
Afterward, one of the officers pulled an elaborate knife with multiple blade edges out of the car. Bystanders expressed shock at the size of the knife.
That officer carried the knife over to a nearby crime lab technician who had been collecting evidence for an entirely different crime.
Investigators could be seen placing it inside of a box.
Watson has been charged with second-degree aggravated assault, carrying a dangerous weapon, possessing a controlled dangerous substance, and maliciously defacing a 2014 Infiniti coupe.
Investigators allege that Watson caused less than $500 in damage to the Infiniti coupe.
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