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Racine police say a fight between two relatives ended when one of them stabbed the other.
Demitris Belle, 18, of Racine, was charged Monday in Racine County Circuit Court with one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, domestic abuse assessments. If convicted, he faces up to 90 days in jail and/or up to $1,000 in fines. Because he has previous convictions for receiving stolen property and bail jumping, a judge has the discretion to add extra time onto any sentence Belle might receive.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to a home in the 1100 block of Blake Avenue for a report of a man who was stabbed in the right side of his abdomen. The man told officers that he was arguing with Belle, who is a relative, and the fight escalated when the man threatened Belle.
Police say the man told them he kicked Belle in the back of the head and then ran to lock himself in the bathroom because he’s afraid of Belle and didn’t really want to fight. The man said as he tried to close the bathroom door, Belle reached in and stabbed him.
The man said Belle didn’t mean to do it, and he didn’t want to press charges because, he said, Belle might have some mental health issues, the complaint reads.
Officers say that when they spoke to Belle, he admitted to arguing with a relative and that after getting kicked in the head, he grabbed a knife from the kitchen for self-defense. Belle told officers he was only trying to scare the man by reaching around the door with the knife and didn’t mean to stab him. He described the knife as having an orange handle, and police say they recovered it at the scene and inventoried it into evidence.
Belle remained at the Racine County Jail as of Monday night on a $500 cash bond. His next court date is scheduled for May 1.