BOURBON COUNTY, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — New details emerged Tuesday in the case against Juan Garcia-Ponce, who is accused of stabbing his coworker before leading law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit through three counties.
During Garcia-Ponce’s preliminary hearing, Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Detective Ben Thompson testified that the victim was driving Garcia-Ponce after he made up a story about needing a ride to a cell phone store.
Thompson testified that Garcia-Ponce later admitted the story was a ruse to get his coworker alone.
According to Thompson, the two traveled about a mile down Stoney Point Road when Garcia-Ponce pulled what appeared to be a real gun. The victim then jumped from the moving vehicle, which crashed into a fence.
Thompson testified that Garcia-Ponce then got into a physical altercation with the victim in the road and stabbed him six times.
A passerby stopped to help the injured man and called police while Garcia-Ponce allegedly drove away in the victim’s vehicle.
During questioning, Thompson testified that Garcia-Ponce admitted to stabbing the victim. Thompson said when he asked Garcia-Ponce about his intent, Garcia-Ponce told him it was “to kill him.”
The victim survived but suffered a collapsed lung, according to testimony. Investigators also found what Thompson described as a realistic-looking BB gun inside the stolen vehicle.
Authorities said the incident then turned into a 42-minute pursuit that stretched an estimated 60 miles through three counties and reached speeds of 100 mph.
Officers eventually used a PIT maneuver on U.S. 460 near the Bourbon-Montgomery County line to stop the vehicle.
Thompson testified that Garcia-Ponce acknowledged the vehicle belonged to the victim and admitted fleeing from police because he believed the officers were immigration authorities.
The case was waived to a Bourbon County grand jury.
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