Asa Amirkiaee, 21, of Woodstock in court Thursday just hours before state police say he returned to his uncle’s farm on the North Bridgewater Road and allegedly stabbed a family member in the leg later Thursday evening. Amirkiaee spent the night in jail and is due back before a judge first thing Friday afternoon to face a new slate of charges. (Eric Francis Photo)
BRIDGEWATER – Just hours after he was in court where he was ordered not to possess any dangerous weapons, a Woodstock man allegedly returned to his uncle’s farm late Thursday afternoon and stabbed a 57-year-old family member in the leg.
Asa Amirkiaee, 21, spent Thursday night in jail for lack of $5,000 bail and is due back before a judge first thing Friday afternoon to be arraigned on new charges alleging aggravated domestic assault with a knife and multiple violations of court-ordered conditions of pre-trial release.
Amirkiaee had just been arrested on Wednesday, and spent that night in jail as well, before his arraignment Thursday afternoon on two counts alleging that he had violated previously imposed conditions of pre-trial release stemming from his original arrest back in April on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful mischief.
Vermont State Police Trooper Stacy Corliss said that a man called 911 yesterday just after 6 p.m. to report that Amirkiaee had just stabbed him in the leg at his residence on the North Bridgewater road near the town line separating Woodstock and Bridgewater.
Corliss said when troopers arrived at the farm they found a Woodstock Ambulance crew was already on the scene treating the victim “for superficial injuries to his legs and arm.”
Troopers later located Amirkiaee on the same property, where Amirkiaee has been working in recent months as a farmhand, and took him into custody without incident.
Concerns about Amirkiaee’s mental health were evident in an affidavit that was filed with the court on Thursday by Trooper Corliss in connection with violation of conditions charge that he was arraigned on that afternoon.
Corliss wrote that on Wednesday afternoon Amirkiaee’s mother called troopers to report that her son “was having a psychotic break due to a court date that was cancelled today and that he has a history of damaging property when he gets agitated. (She) advised the she left the residence because she was afraid for her safety and that she was currently in her car in Woodstock with her brother.”
According to Corliss, Amirkiaee’s mother “said that when she left the residence…in the town of Bridgewater, Asa had a hammer in his hand but had not directly threatened her or (her brother).” She “said she was looking for troopers to respond to the residence with her to speak to Asa and she advised that she was looking for a mental health intervention,” police said.
Corliss wrote that she and another trooper arrived to find the residence “in a state of disarray with a broken chair and cabinets strewn about the floor.” She said there was also evidence that suggesting that Asa Amirkiaee had opened an antique gun cabinet and hidden a few of the guns throughout the residence.
While the troopers were looking over the property, Corliss said, Asa drove back up in his uncle’s pickup truck with a rifle sitting on the dash. “Asa began to reach for the rifle but Trooper Stephenson quickly intervened and grabbed it from his hands.” Since he had been prohibited for possessing any weapons at his April court appearance, that was the alleged violation that prompted the troopers to move to arrest Amirkiaee on the spot.
Corliss said Amirkiaee told her “he was upset because he works very hard all day, long hours, and his uncle does not help him as much as he should.”
Trooper Corliss wrote that after her son was taken into custody, Amirkiaee’s mother “expressed her strong desire to have Asa committed for an emergency mental health evaluation.”
Corliss went on to say that, since Asa Amirkiaee would not consent to a voluntary evaluation, the troopers did not feel that they had sufficient grounds to compel him to do so under the rules they are supposed to follow for such situations. “It should be noted that Asa does not have any diagnosed mental health issues and is not currently taking any medications,” Corliss wrote in her report, adding that, because he was allegedly becoming “verbally combative, rude and uncooperative” during the booking process after he was taken to the Woodstock Police Station, the decision was made not to fingerprint or photograph him prior to his court appearance Thursday.
The original incident in March, which resulted in Amirkiaee being charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful mischief, involved his allegedly taking an axe to his aunt’s car and bashing out one of its headlights following an argument with family members.