Video helps KDPS link stabbing, punch to crime spree

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Surveillance video that showed two women being stabbed and another punched in the face in Kalamazoo allowed police to connect a string of assaults last week, they say.

William Sylvester Richardson, 33, of Schoolcraft, was charged Monday with three counts of assault with intent to murder, two counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer and one count of aggravated assault for his alleged actions Thursday night .

The crime spree began just after 10 p.m. near E. Michigan Avenue and W Main Street. According to the probable cause document, a woman told police that a man she didn’t know came up to she and her friend unprovoked and slashed her friend in the throat and stabbed her with a knife. Her friend needed surgery. The woman also had a fractured skull and cuts on her head and arm. Police later identified the man as Richardson. The assault was caught on surveillance camera.

That same night, police say Richardson also slashed a 51-year-old man in the throat at Bronson Park. That man said he was familiar with Richardson and knew his name. The victim was able to ride his bike to the hospital and ended up needing surgery as well, according to the probable cause document.

Another victim, age 25, showed up to the hospital Thursday night, reporting to police that she had been punched in the face by Richards while walking with her friends on the Kalamazoo Mall. Due to the impact of the punch, the woman said she hit the ground and injured her arm, face and hand. A surveillance camera also captured this assault.

Police reviewed both videos and determined that Richardson was the suspect in the first stabbing and the punching assault.

While officers were continuing their investigation, they were told that Richardson had been seen in the area of Water Street and the Kalamazoo Mall. When officers arrived, he ran away and officers followed, eventually  hitting him with a police cruiser. Richardson was taken to the hospital and then the Kalamazoo County Jail.

Hie bond was set at $1 million cash or surety.

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