Staff Report

Craig Steven Cassel

WINONA LAKE – A Warsaw man was arrested for allegedly using a knife to threaten a woman.

Craig Steven Cassel, 27, 499 Clinic Court Apartment 16, Warsaw, is charged with intimidation with a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony.

On Nov. 24, a Winona Lake Police officer responded to a domestic incident at a residence. A woman said Cassel had knives in his possession and left the area.

Upon arrival, the officer spoke with the woman, who said she had a verbal argument with Cassel and that he threatened her with a large knife. According to court documents, Cassel left the residence, stabbed at the front door with the knife, and made threats.

The officer also spoke with a witness, who said he heard Cassel threaten to harm the woman while in possession of a knife. He said the knife had an eight- to 10-inch blade. A second witness saw Cassel hit a door with a knife and threaten to harm the woman.

A Warsaw Police officer located Cassel, who alleged the woman came at him with a knife raised above her head. He told police he had a knife during the incident for defensive purposes and hit the door with an umbrella. Cassel also said he damaged drywall in a bedroom with his knife.

When asked about any verbal threats he may have made to the woman, Cassel said he couldn’t recall since he was in a defensive stance.

Officers located three knives in Cassel’s vehicle.

The two witnesses said they did not see the woman use a knife to threaten Cassel.

Cassel was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Nov. 24.