Friends charged as fight escalates with knife, machete
STAMFORD — An argument between two East Side friends led to both being arrested on felony charges Wednesday night for having a fight involving a knife and one man being clipped by a car the other was driving.
Sgt. Sean McGowan said police were dispatched with lights and sirens to Custer Street at 6:38 p.m. on a report of a young Haitian man with a knife breaking the side view mirror of a car and that the man was running toward Lawn Avenue.
When police got to Lawn Avenue, they found John Kola, 19, bleeding from his hands and walking in front of a home on Lawn Avenue. The complainant then showed up and said Kola tried to stab him and broke his mirror. The man, identified as Nicolas Fresnel, 32, said just before the incident he was at his home with his girlfriend and Kola when the three got into his car and dropped off his girlfriend. He then dropped Kola off on Custer Street and went back to his girlfriend’s home. There, he began receiving text messages from Kola accusing him of lying.
Fresnel said he returned to Custer Street and found Kola, who punched Fresnel on the left side of his face while sitting in his car. Fresnel said Kola then hit his passenger window causing some damage and ran off. Fresnel followed him in his car and, on Lawn Avenue, he said Kola pulled a knife and tried to stab him with it, McGowan said.
Fresnel said he had a machete in his car and pulled it out for protection while striking a car on his way out of a parking lot. Fresnel said he also struck Kola with his car while he was trying to drive away from him, McGowan said.
With Kola on the ground after striking him with his car, Fresnel said he got out of his car and decided to arm himself with a bat because he was worried that Kola would try to stab him again.
Kola, of Custer Street, was charged with firstdegree criminal mischief and breach of peace.
Fresnel, also of Custer Street, was charged with second-degree assault, carrying a dangerous weapon and breach of peace.