Stabbing in downtown Kalamazoo was unprovoked, victim tells police

KALAMAZOO, MI – A man accused of stabbing three people and punching another in the face in downtown Kalamazoo last week appeared in court Monday, Sept. 16, to hear the formal charges against him.

William Sylvester Richardson is charged with three counts of assault with intent to murder stemming from a series of attacks downtown that began on Thursday, September 12, and continued into the early hours of Friday morning.

Richardson, 33, appeared on the charges via video hearing on Monday.

“Yes, sir,” Richardson replied when Judge Becket Jones asked him if he understood the charges and the possible punishment.

The bail, set at $1 million in cash or surety, was set to reflect a potential danger to the community, Jones said.

“This was a series of violent acts involving a deadly weapon,” the judge said.

Richardson was arrested early Friday after police responded to a report that two women had been stabbed in the 100 block of East Michigan Avenue and another woman had been punched in the face at the Kalamazoo Mall Thursday night.

Another stabbing occurred in Bronson Park early Friday, police said. A short time later, officers arrested Richardson nearby after an officer struck him with a patrol car.

One of the victims in the first incident told police that the attacker stabbed her, causing cuts to her arm and head and a fractured skull. The man also injured her friend, causing a serious cut to her neck that required surgery, according to police documents submitted to the court.

The woman with the neck injuries could not be questioned immediately due to her condition, police said. She later told police that the man attacked her without provocation. The attack was recorded by a surveillance camera, police said.

Another woman told police she was punched in the face in the 100 block of South Kalamazoo Mall, near Michigan Avenue, causing injuries to her face, arm and hand.

Hours later, early on the morning of Friday, Sept. 13, a man was stabbed in the neck near his carotid artery in Bronson Park, severing tendons and veins in his neck, the document says. The man knew Richardson, the document says.

After the stabbing, the man rode his bicycle to Bronson Methodist Hospital and later lost consciousness from blood loss, documents say. He required surgery, the police report of the incident states.

While making bail arguments Monday, an assistant district attorney said Richardson has prior convictions, including for assault with a dangerous weapon in July. That case was dismissed without prejudice, court records show.

Richardson appeared in an orange jumpsuit.

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If convicted, Richardson faces a life sentence in prison.

On Monday, he was also brought to court on charges of grievous bodily harm and two counts of assault/resisting/obstructing police.

Police said Friday that the man stabbed to death in Bronson Park on Friday suffered serious injuries. The two women stabbed were in stable condition on Friday, KDPS said.

A witness who witnessed the aftermath of the first stabbing said she heard a woman screaming and saw her and others running toward a car before it drove away.

Richardson was also arraigned on Monday in another case, charging him with a misdemeanor of using an electrical outlet in a city park, a violation of city ordinance. He was also charged with failure to appear in another case, charging him with resisting police and obstructing police.

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