TEXARKANA, Texas–A 19-year-old Texarkana man accused of stabbing a man in the face and eye and cutting off his hand with a sword is being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $500,000.
Deroyce Eugene Brown, 19, allegedly had blood on his shoes and on the screen of his cell phone when police confronted him the morning of July 23 at a house in the 500 block of Waterman Street, according to a probable cause affidavit. Police had gone to the house with a search warrant after following a blood trail from a home in the 500 block of Lumpkin Street where help had been called for a severely injured 44-year-old man at approximately 4:30 a.m. that morning.
According to the affidavit, the victim had been stabbed in the face, causing him to lose his left eye, and his left hand had been severed from his body and could not be located. The victim also suffered cuts to his face and left shoulder, the affidavit said.
At the house on Waterman, members of the Texarkana Texas Police Department encountered Brown and a 65-year-old man inside. When they had first attempted to make contact with someone inside the house where the blood trail ended, officers received no response so they obtained a search warrant, the affidavit said.
Using a bullhorn, officers announced their presence at the Waterman residence in the hope that anyone inside would exit. When no response came, officers forced entry into the house. Inside the home officers found Brown and a 65-year-old man.
The older man told investigators he had returned home the night before after a night of drinking and Brown, whom he knew as “Bro,” and another man, whom he knew as “Black,” were in the house and that they had also been drinking, the affidavit said. The older man reportedly said the men he knew as Bro and Black had been at odds with each other but that he went to sleep and did not witness a physical fight although he had been woken up multiple times by the two men yelling.
The older man reportedly told police that he knew something had happened after he woke up “and saw blood on the floors,” and the man he knew as Black was leaving.
The older man told investigators that Brown appeared to think that the other man had taken something from him. Brown allegedly claimed that the victim had tried to steal from him.
During an interview with investigators at the Bi-State, Brown allegedly claimed that the man had tried to rob him and had struck him in the face with a gun, but investigators reportedly observed no injuries to Brown.
When asked what occurred after that, Brown allegedly said, “What else you think happened, I cut his motherfucking hand off.”
When asked what he had used to cut off the victim’s hand, Brown allegedly claimed “the dog” and said the dog was a “killer” although the affidavit does not refer to any animals being located. Brown allegedly “began to laugh out loud and said he didn’t want to talk and confirmed he wanted a lawyer,” the affidavit said.
After investigators left the interview room where Brown was being held in the Bi-State Justice Building in downtown Texarkana, Brown allegedly laid down on the floor in a corner, laughed again, and said aloud that the victim “was screaming like a bitch,” the affidavit said.
The affidavit lists the weapon used in the alleged assault as a sword.
Brown is currently facing a charge of second-degree felony assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted of that offense, he faces two to 20 years in prison.
The case has been assigned to 5th District Judge Bill Miller.