Stabbing suspect tells officers ‘he went berserk’ on the victim, court documents say

POCATELLO — A Pocatello man arrested March 11 allegedly slashed a six- to eight-inch laceration in the belly of another man, according to newly release court documents.

Neicon Nicolas Loveless, 20, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon for the alleged attack. It was the second time in seven months that Loveless has been charged for attacking another person with a knife.

RELATED | Man arrested for second alleged stabbing in 7 months

Court documents show Pocatello Police Department officers responded to the Physicians Immediate Care facility on Yellowstone Avenue around 6:30 p.m. where they found a man being cared for by the staff. Ambulances were dispatched to the facility and the victim was transported to Portneuf Medical Center, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Officers noted in their reports that, upon arriving, they found the victim bleeding profusely. The injuries listed in their repots noted a six- to eight-inch-long, two-inch-wide laceration to his midsection, a puncture wound to his upper left chest (near his armpit), a laceration on his left arm and multiple puncture wounds to his back. He was also bleeding from an apparent laceration to his head.

Pocatello police spokesman Lt. John Walker told EastIdahoNews.com the following day the injuries were not expected to be life-threatening. Hospital officials could not provide information on the last known status of the victim.

Once the victim was transported to the hospital, officers began interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence at the scene, the 1000 block of Wilson Avenue, where they noted visible blood pooling in the roadway.

After receiving a description of the suspect, officers were contacted by dispatch, informing them that Loveless had called to inform them of his location, a trailer on West Chubbuck Road.

Loveless told officers he had been at a friend’s house and attempted to pet his friend’s dog. The dog tried to bite him, he said, so he kicked the dog. The owners of the pet yelled at him, and he responded by telling them he would kill their dog should it bite him.

After a heated conversation, he said a man came walking from up the street and kicked him in the stomach. He said he pulled his knife in self-defense, and when he was tackled he began to attack the man. He told officers that he wasn’t sure if he cut the man, but if he did it would have been no more than two or three times.

Officers described the victim’s injuries, to which Loveless responded by telling them that he may have cut the man three or four times.

He told officers that he was attempting to stab the man in the face, but was unsure if he was able to.

Asked why he didn’t walk away from the confrontation, Loveless said he was “thinking violent thoughts,” adding, “I’m glad I didn’t have a fixed-blade because I would have taken his life.” He told officers that in retrospect his actions were not justified, saying, “no, it was too aggressive” and that he just went “berserk.”

While the victim was being treated, officers asked the victim if he could describe the event.

He told officers that he was walking down Wilson Avenue when a man he did not know rode a bike up behind him and said “I am going to f***ing kill you.” The victim then said the man pulled out a 10-inch folding knife and attacked him. The victim added that while he did not know Loveless, and that the two did not have a previous altercation, he believed that someone had been prowling in the neighborhood recently.

Loveless was arrested and booked at the Bannock County Jail, where he is being held on a $350,000 bail.

He was arrested in August for allegedly stabbing a man in the face and released 10 days later on his own recognizance. He is due in court for that alleged attack on May 11 for jury trial. He is scheduled for a March 22 preliminary hearing in regards to this most recent attack.

If found guilty, he would face up to 15 years in prison for each attack.