A Troy man was sentenced recently following his guilty plea to stabbing his cousin with a knife last fall.

Tyler Shawn Glaze, 31, faced felony charges after stabbing his cousin during a drunken altercation and later allegedly threatening to kill him if he spoke to law enforcement.

Glaze was first charged in Lincoln County Justice Court with assault with a weapon and witness tampering following the Sept. 8 incident on East Missoula Avenue in Troy. Glaze appeared in Lincoln County District Court Nov. 3 and pleaded not guilty to both counts.  

His bail was set at $100,000, but during a Dec. 1 court appearance in which he pleaded guilty on the assault charge, his attorney Sean Hinchey, sought Glaze's release on his own recognizance. Deputy county attorney Jeff Zwang had no objection. 

On Dec. 29, Zwang filed a motion to revoke Glaze's release after the defendant failed to check in with his probation officer.

According to Lincoln County Probation officer Vanessa Williamson, Glaze didn't check in with the department. It is one of his release requirements. The phone number that was on the court documents was disconnected, so I contacted his attorney's office. The phone number provided by them was disconnected as well.

District Judge Matt Cuffe issued a bench warrant the same day. 

As part of Glaze's plea deal, the witness tampering charge was dropped in exchange for the defendant's guilty plea to assault with a weapon. Cuffe sentenced Glaze to a 5-year suspended term.

According to Troy police reports, officers were dispatched to the 700 block of East Missoula Avenue at about 12:35 a.m. for a report of a man with a severe arm laceration. When the responding officer arrived, he found the victim lying on his back, “covered in blood,” with a woman applying pressure to a deep wound on his right forearm. A makeshift tourniquet had already been placed and the officer began providing additional medical aid.

The officer reported that the victim—who appeared highly intoxicated—initially said only that there had been an “incident with a knife” following an argument. While being loaded into the ambulance, he asked that all doors be closed before quietly stating he had been stabbed by his cousin. He refused to provide a name and said he did not want to press charges.

Later that morning, the victim’s sister contacted Troy police, asking why no arrest had been made. Less than an hour afterward, the victim himself called the investigating officer and identified Glaze as the attacker, saying he now wished to press charges.

According to court documents, the victim told officers that the argument began over Glaze’s treatment of his girlfriend, escalating into a physical fight. He said he had thrown Glaze to the ground, at which point Glaze “sliced him open” with what the victim believed to be a buck knife.

The alleged victim reported needing 38 stitches in his arm and four stitches on his right side, telling police he believed he had been stabbed four or five times. The victim said he “didn’t want to be a snitch” but felt the stabbing was unjustified.

During a later in-person interview, the victim said Glaze became enraged after making a remark about wanting to sleep with his girlfriend. The victim told police the outburst was “completely out of the ordinary,” saying the two cousins had spent the day drinking together and catching up, thinking alcohol was probably the reason for the anger.

The victim also said that the night before, Glaze stood about 20 feet away and threatened to kill him if he spoke to police—an allegation the officer noted was consistent with the victim’s request to close the ambulance doors.

Convictions on both charges could have resulted in 30 years in prison and fines reaching $100,000.