Stabbing in Moss Bluff under investigation - KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

A fight in Moss Bluff leaves a man stabbed in the back and another man in jail.

It's a familiar house to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office, and the man arrested isn't a stranger to deputies either.

Sheriff Tony Mancuso says this morning's incident started over drugs.

Just before 9:30 Monday morning, a fight broke out at 1214 Musser Street in Moss Bluff. Twenty-seven-year-old Alexander Ballard, a repeat offender, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery.

"After the fight was over, he ended up going after one of them with a knife and stabbing him in the back, with a knife," said Sheriff Mancuso.

The male victim was transported to a local hospital and later released, but Sheriff Mancuso says this is what happens when drugs get involved.

"The problem with this type of situation is, you've got all of these people who are not exactly society's best who are fighting, and one gets stabbed," said Sheriff Mancuso.

Witnesses are giving deputies a variety of scenarios of the incident.

"I'm not sure we'll ever get the complete story, the truthful story," said Sheriff Mancuso. "We've got bits and pieces. Some make sense to us, some don't."

Sheriff Mancuso says they're trying to keep their own names clean.

"That's what makes some of these cases so tough sometimes," said Sheriff Mancuso. "When you get a situation like this one, where we believe it's drug related, all parties involved don't want to get in trouble, therefore they're all telling us a different story."

The location of the stabbing is a home very familiar to sheriff's office deputies.

"We have been out to this house about 18 or 19 times over the past year, ranging from thefts to removing subjects to vehicle thefts, we've had numerous calls out there," said Sheriff Mancuso. "Sometimes in cases like this, it's just a matter of time."

He says there's not much law enforcement can do to prevent crime from happening at the home.

"Anytime drug or alcohol are involved, unless we're staying there babysitting them, which we're not going to do, no, I don't think we can prevent this," said Sheriff Mancuso. "That's just bad people hurting bad people."

Ballard's criminal history includes several theft charges, drug charges, damage to property and domestic abuse.

Sheriff Mancuso says the investigation is ongoing and more charges may come since there were several other individuals at the home involved in the altercation.

He said they most likely would be misdemeanors, but he also said there's always a chance Ballard's charges may be upgraded.

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