Victim in Tacoma double stabbing had protection order against alleged attacker, charges say
A man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend at least 10 times last Friday at her Tacoma home, nearly killing her, has been charged. Prosecutors said the man tried to kill a witness who recorded the attack.
Tony Rico Sanders, 39, is charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault and first-degree robbery in Pierce County Superior Court.
Sanders pleaded not guilty at arraignment Friday. His bail was set at $2 million.
Neither of the women hurt in the incident have been publicly identified. Sanders 44-year-old ex-girlfriend is at Harborview Medical Center in critical status, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause. It is not known if she will survive.
The other victim, a 41-year-old woman, suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.
In charging documents, prosecutors wrote that Sanders allegedly sent messages to his ex-girlfriend Oct. 26 threatening to kill her and her family. Several domestic violence incidents have been reported between the two.
Court records show the woman obtained a domestic violence protection order against Sanders on Oct. 18. In her petition, the woman alleged Sanders had recently choked her and dragged her by her hair after she confronted him about damage to her car. She said she was afraid for her life because of Sanders’ mental state.
Following the Nov. 5 double stabbing, Sanders was arrested Nov. 10 at a Tacoma residence with the assistance of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team, police said.
In an interview with detectives, Sanders admitted to stabbing his ex-girlfriend and the witness, according to the probable cause statement. He also gave up the location of the knife used in the attack and a phone he allegedly took from the witness.
Detectives located the knife and the witnesses’ phone in storm drains near where the attack took place.
Charging documents gave this account:
Tacoma Police Department officers were dispatched about 7:45 a.m. Nov. 5 to a report of a stabbing in the 3100 block of South 9th Street.
When police arrived, they found a woman with stab wounds to her neck, face and arms lying in the living room of her apartment. The woman’s 15-year-old daughter told police she called to report the stabbing after waking up to her mother screaming at her to call 911.
While police provided medical aid, the stab victim told the officers she’d gone outside her apartment after hearing an argument.The woman later told police she saw a man stabbing someone repeatedly in an alley, and she called 911 to report what was happening. The woman took photos and videos of the incident.
The woman told police that the man began to walk away, but then turned back to “take care of her,” because of what she saw. According to the probable cause statement, the man stabbed the witness several times in the face and back, and the man fled with her cellphone.
In the alley, police found the second stabbing victim inside of her vehicle. The victims were transported to St. Joseph Medical Center. The second victim was later taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle because her injuries were life-threatening.
While trying to identify a suspect, police found evidence of several domestic violence incidents that had occurred between the second stabbing victim and Sanders. Most recently, the victim reported that Sanders cut the power lines into her apartment Nov. 3 and smashed her vehicle’s windows.
And on Oct. 27, Sanders allegedly violated a domestic violence protection order the woman had obtained against him when he showed up at a residence he’d previously shared with the woman on South Trafton Street.
Sanders also allegedly sent threatening text messages to her. One text read, “You can’t hide we love the hunt.” Detectives were granted a search warrant for a phone number associated with Sanders and found messages sent to the stab victim Oct. 26 threatening to kill her and her family.
Tacoma police arrested Sanders Nov. 10 after he attempted to flee on foot, according to the probable cause statement. It’s not clear where he was arrested.
In an interview with detectives, Sanders admitted to stabbing both women, according to the probable cause statement. Prosecutors wrote that he also provided the locations of the knife used in the assaults, where he discarded his clothing and the witnesses’ cell phone.
