KEY WEST, Fla. – Key West police arrested a 32-year-old man on multiple charges after they accused him of stabbing another man following a fight at a park late Tuesday night.
Officers with the Key West Police Department took Willie Scott into custody just after midnight Wednesday.
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According to a KWPD arrest report, witnesses told investigators that Scott was initially engaged in a cordial conversation with Nathanial Christopher Spikes at a picnic table at Pines Park, located at 3501 S. Roosevelt Blvd., adjacent to Key West International Airport.
Things took a turn, however, and Spikes, 46, stood up and began shouting at Scott, police wrote. The report states the argument escalated and the two began throwing punches at each other and a witness unsuccessfully tried to break up the fight.
Police said at some point, Spikes fell to the ground and Scott went back to the picnic table to grab a serrated steak knife.
Spikes appeared to be walking away “as if he was finished fighting,” when Scott walked up behind him and stabbed him in the leg, according to the report.
After Spikes stumbled and collapsed, Scott kneeled next to Spike and stabbed him three or four more times, police said.
“Spikes laid on the ground bleeding and was not able to defend himself or stop Scott’s attack,” investigators wrote in the report.
After first responders arrived, medics airlifted Spikes to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.
Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward said Spikes was in serious but stable condition as of Wednesday afternoon. The arrest report and jail records erroneously listed Scott as being charged with murder, he said.
Police said Scott left the scene and disposed of the knife in an attempt to “conceal his actions.”
Police later found Scott, wearing blood-stained clothing, walking west towards Smathers Beach and took him into custody, the arrest report states.
The report states that detectives asked Scott why he was in custody, to which he replied: “Because of my fight with my homeboy.”
Scott, who is homeless, didn’t make any further statements to police, according to the report.
Scott was being held in the Monroe County Jail on charges of committing a felony with a weapon and criminal conspiracy.
According to jail records, he’s scheduled to be arraigned in court on May 19.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to indicate that Spikes was still alive as of Wednesday, according to prosecutors. An arrest report and jail records erroneously listed Scott’s charge as second-degree murder.