http://www.timesnews.net

63-year-old Kingsport woman disarms knife-wielding attacker with cane

Published 11/09/2007 By Kacie Dingus Breeding

A 63-year-old Kingsport woman used a cane to foil a man's alleged attempt to stab and kill her so she couldn't testify against him as the victim of an earlier alleged auto burglary and aggravated assault.

The woman told deputies she fended off Arthur Timothy Barrett's attack by whacking his knife-wielding hand with her cane after he cut her outside her Bloomingdale Road home Wednesday evening, according to an affidavit.

The woman told deputies she heard a knock at her door on Bloomingdale Road just after 9 p.m. and she'd opened the door and peered through the screen door but didn't see anyone. Barrett yanked the door open when she grasped the handle, pulling her outside.

The woman said Barrett raised the knife and said "Die, b----, I ain't going to prison for nothing," before attempting to stab her in the right side. The knife nicked her shirt and pricked her skin, according to an affidavit filed by SCSO Lieutenant Bobby Russell.

The woman said she hit Barrett's knife-wielding hand with her cane, causing him to drop the weapon. He then ran to a waiting vehicle and sped off.

Barrett, aka Timothy Barrett, 50, of 1516 Magic View Dr., Kingsport, was put behind bars Thursday on charges of attempted first degree murder and coercion of a witness.

Barrett's unwelcome presence at the woman's home violated a restraining order filed to keep him from contacting the woman and her husband.

Wednesday's incident marks at least three times the woman says she encountered Barrett at her home.

On March 26, the woman told deputies she was out walking her dog around 2 a.m. when she saw the interior lights on inside her van and her dog started to growl. She turned to see what the dog was barking at and someone struck her in the head with an unknown object.

She regained consciousness later and went inside to wake her husband, who then called 911, but the woman said she didn't recall who hit her until an April 9 incident.

On that day, the woman said Barrett had followed her home, blocked her vehicle in, walked up to her and repeatedly hit her in the nose with his finger while making verbal threats. A large, unidentified black man was in the car with him that day, she said, and she recalled the same strange man standing behind Barrett when she was struck unconscious in March.

Judge Duane Snodgrass set Barrett's bond at $100,000 on the condition that he has no contact with the victim or her husband if he is released.

According to an affidavit, Barrett used to work for the woman's husband.