Man Charged With Slashing a Woman With a Knife

ST. CLOUD -- A St. Cloud man is charged with punching a woman and cutting her with a knife. Twenty-six-year-old Clarence Blanchard is charged with 2nd-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and terroristic threats.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to an apartment unit in south St. Cloud about 1:00 a.m. Wednesday on a domestic assault in progress.

Officers met with a woman who was crying, limping and bleeding from her leg.  She said Blanchard had punched her and slashed her shin with a knife following an argument.

The woman said she threatened to take the children and leave but ultimately decided to stay when Blanchard left. When Blanchard returned and the woman let him in, she said he slapped her and then blocked her from leaving. The victim said she picked up a knife and told Blanchard to move so she could leave.

Moments later records show the woman returned to get her children. She dropped the knife in the hallway and pounded on the door. When Blanchard let her in, she told police she poured out a bottle of liquor he was drinking and that angered Blanchard. He is accused of punching the woman in the back of the head.

As she went to leave again, the woman said Blanchard picked up the knife from the hallway, threatened to kill her, swiped the knife at her and struck her shin. Records show Blanchard then picked up the woman and threw her down a flight of stairs.

Blanchard is due in court Thursday.