The man police believe is responsible for a stabbing at the Rodeway Inn on Monday morning, may not be prosecuted for assault.
According to an affidavit of complaint, police charged 22-year-old Matthew Cohen with Possession of Schedule II Drugs or Resale, Possession of a Firearm during a Dangerous Felony, and Resisting Stop/Fisk/Halt. The affidavit also states that the victim, Mike Hensley, did not wish to prosecute his assailant for the assault.
On Monday morning, police were dispatched to the motel located at 6774 Ringgold Road on a stabbing. According to the affidavit, dispatchers advised that the suspect was Cohen, who was wearing a t-shirt, camo shorts and had tattoos on his right arm.
Matthew Cohen
According to the affidavit, when an officer arrived he spotted a man fitting the description and carrying a black backpack run from the main lobby to the south side of the building. The officer states that he followed the suspect where he was seen with three women and a maroon car.
The officer asked the suspect to step to the police cruiser to talk and to raise his shirt to check his waist band for weapons. The report states that the suspect then fled on foot. “As I gave chase I could see him reaching in his waist band for an unknown object,” the report states. The suspect was quickly caught by other police officers. The report states that a loaded silver, semi-automatic handgun was located during a search of the foot pursuit path that the suspect took.
According to the police report, Hensley identified Cohen as the man who stabbed him. He was taken to Erlanger Hospital suffering stab wounds to his chest, abdomen, thigh and had suffered a “blunt force” wound to his head. Hensley, who was in stable condition at the hospital, told investigators that he did not want to prosecute Cohen.
The report states that “due to the ongoing methamphetamine issues at this location, Cohen’s backpack was searched for drugs and possible dangerous items. Inside the bag detectives found another small caliber pistol, a Karambit style knife, a “large amount of Ice (methamphetamine) packaged in a way for resale, as well as another bag containing a large amount of Ice”
The total of 94.6 grams of Ice was recovered from the backpack, along with three pipes used for smoking narcotics and $2,001 in cash.
In a press release, Stan Allen, Assistant Police Chief of the East Ridge Police Department, charges stemming from the assault are pending further investigation.
Cohen, who lives at a Scenic View Drive address in Ooltewah, was jailed on a $25,000 bond. He is due to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court on June 27.
