By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE –St. John the Baptist Parish authorities arrested a LaPlace man Saturday in connection with an Oct. 8 stabbing on a LaPlace street corner.

Martell Tuco, 25, of Yorktowne Drive, was arrested Monday morning on charges of second-degree battery, said Capt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the St. John Sheriff’s Office. Clement said Tuco is accused of stabbing a 32-year-old man near the intersection of Yorktowne Drive and Newport Drive earlier this month.

According to a Sheriff’s Office report, the victim told deputies he had stopped at the intersection to speak to an acquaintance, who was standing on the corner. The conversation escalated into an argument, and while the two men were arguing, another man approached and stabbed the victim three times. Clement said the victim fled the scene and called police before being transported to Ochsner Hospital with stab wounds to his abdomen and back.

Clement said investigators later identified Tuco as the suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest. Tuco turned himself in about 8:30 a.m. Monday. He was booked into the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility, where he was held on a $25,000 bond.