Stabbing Suspect in Custody

TYLER — Authorities in Smith County say a suspect is in custody after a verbal confrontation escalated into a stabbing. On Thursday at approximately 3:05 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence on CR 239 after receiving a 911 call reporting a stabbing at the location. The deputies found the victim, identified as Andrew Lee Mitchell Jr., lying in the front yard with a wound to his lower abdomen. He was conscious and able to answer deputies’ questions, accoridng to a news release.

Mitchell told deputies he had been involved in a verbal altercation with a man identified as Gary Benton. Mitchell said during the argument, Benton pulled a pocket knife out and stabbed Mitchell one time. Benton, who was still at the residence, was contacted and questioned by deputies. After speaking with both parties involved and witnesses at the scene, Benton, 57, of Tyler was taken into custody for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and booked into the Smith County Jail. Mitchell, 50, of Winona, was life flighted to East Texas Medical Center and was last reported in stable condition. The investigation continues.