Gang member charged in stabbing

MOSES LAKE — A gang member from Michigan allegedly cut a woman with a knife several times during an early morning altercation at a Moses Lake elementary school last week.

Grant County prosecutors charged Emilio Cornell, 24, of Michigan, with second-degree assault (domestic violence).

Cornell’s arrest stems from an incident in the early morning hours of March 15, when the Grant County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a stab victim being brought into Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake for treatment. A deputy responded to the hospital and contacted the female victim who reportedly had a laceration to the left side of her neck, resulting in three stitches, a laceration to her right arm, resulting in five stitches, and a small cut on her left hand from trying to protect herself from the knife, according to court documents.

The victim stated about midnight she discovered her ex-boyfriend, Cornell, had set up an account on a social media dating application. The victim began contacting Cornell through a third party, who initially claimed to be Cornell’s cousin but is believed to have been Cornell using a fake Facebook profile, and made arrangements to meet Cornell at Larson Heights Elementary School.

When the victim arrived at the school Cornell allegedly “ran up on her” from the parking lot with three other individuals. She said Cornell brandished a pistol and “forcefully” held the weapon up to her throat.

“(The victim) stated she was able to move his hand off of her throat where he was grabbing her, and she backed up. (The victim) stated Emilio then shoved the gun into her stomach and used his full body force to try to get her on the ground, but she was able to get on top of him,” wrote a deputy. “(The victim) stated she was trying to hold his hands away from her because he had retrieved his knife from his belt.”

The victim claimed Cornell attempted to stab her in the throat, which is why she got the laceration on her neck. Cornell yelled at one of his friends to get the victim off of him, which prompted one of the males he was with to grab the woman by her hair and pull her off of Cornell. The victim turned around and kicked the man in the stomach and stuck her thumb in one of the man’s eye sockets as he was holding her down with his body weight.

Cornell and his friends eventually left in a vehicle with Michigan license plates. The victim claimed Cornell is “heavily involved” in a gang in Michigan and he was in Moses Lake to transport large amounts of cocaine.

Cornell was stopped in the vehicle with Michigan plates on March 17 in the 800 block of South Pioneer Way in Moses Lake and taken into custody. A female with Cornell told police there was a gun in the car and the vehicle was towed to the Grant County Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team’s impound lot.

A man who was with Cornell during the incident with the victim was contacted later in the day and admitted Cornell had a weapon locked in a safe in the trunk of the vehicle he was pulled over in. He claimed he drove Cornell from Michigan to Moses Lake to get Cornell’s Social Security card from the victim.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.