Two stabbed at St. George bar after drunk patron ‘felt disrespected’

ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — A man stabbed two employees of a bar in St. George on Saturday after he “felt disrespected,” according to St. George Police.

Mario Lerma Perez, 22, was arrested in Washington County on two counts of aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury (second-degree felony), threaten with/use of dangerous weapon in fight (class-A misdemeanor), prohibited dangerous weapon conduct (class-A misdemeanor), driving under the influence (class-B misdemeanor), among other charges.

At around 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 27, Perez stabbed two employees of a St. George bar after they had forced him to leave for being too intoxicated, according to police. Staff reportedly said the man was so drunk that he fell off his chair onto the ground, then tried punching a person who was attempting to help him back up.

After being kicked out of the bar, Perez allegedly walked to his vehicle, grabbed a knife, and then drove to the front of the bar. According to police, he stated that he felt disrespected by the employees and wanted to “make them show him some respect,” court documents state.

The two employees stopped the man outside the front door to the bar and Perez then stabbed one in the arm and the other in the clavicle area, police said. The man who was stabbed in the arm reportedly had a sliced artery, forcing one of the responding to officers to apply a tourniquet.

According to police, the man’s tourniquet was removed at the hospital and he began bleeding profusely, causing him to be rushed into emergency surgery. The other employee, despite being stabbed near the neck, was “more fortunate,” court documents state.

When officers had arrived on scene, they attempted to place Perez in handcuffs but he resisted arrest. The officers reportedly had to use a Taser to finally restrain him.

Inside Perez’s vehicle, police found three open bottles of beer in the center console, a package of THC gummies in the front console area, and a sheath for the knife which was on the floor of the driver’s seat.

Perez was booked into Washington County Jail on the aforementioned charges. No further information is available at this time.