Portland police have arrested a city man and charged him in “two separate, unprovoked assaults” in the Bayside neighborhood Friday morning, one that left another man in critical condition with a stab wound.
Joshua Rezendes, 36, of Portland was charged with assault and felony aggravated assault and taken to Cumberland County Jail.
“At approximately 8:12 a.m., witnesses flagged down officers in the area of Oxford and Preble streets, reporting a male had just been stabbed,” Portland police said in a release. “Officers quickly responded and administered emergency medical treatment to the victim, who had just suffered a severe arterial slash wound to the neck.”
The victim was listed in critical condition at Maine Medical Center on Friday.
“As officers were attempting to locate the suspect, they came across a separate confrontation happening in the area of Oxford and Cedar streets” and apprehended Rezendes as he was assaulting another person, police said.
Officers recovered a knife from Rezendes, which “led officers to determine that he was also the suspect in the stabbing” at Oxford and Preble streets, police said.
The victim in the second assault suffered a laceration and was released after being treated at Maine Med. It was not immediately clear whether a knife was used in the second assault or if the victim was assaulted in some other way, said David Singer, Portland police spokesman.
The Bayside assaults occurred on the heels of at least three attacks on women in the city’s West End neighborhood over the past several weeks. In addition, a man was attacked Wednesday night while sitting on a bench at Fort Sumner Park on Munjoy Hill. Another woman was attacked on Thomas Street in October.
Singer said, however, that although “detectives are looking at any possible connection, there is no indication at this time that (Friday’s attacks) are related to other assaults previously reported.”
Rezendes has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2007, according to an online background check through the Maine State Bureau of Identification. Rezendes was convicted of felony aggravated assault in 2017 and was sentenced to one year in prison. He was also convicted of felony theft by unauthorized taking and sentenced to nine months in prison last year. In August, Rezendes was found guilty of misdemeanor assault and spent seven days in the Cumberland County Jail.
The Scarborough police canine unit assisted in Friday’s investigation.
“Detectives continue to investigate the matter, which will be referred to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. There is no additional threat to the public,” Portland Police Chief Frank Clark said in a statement.
If anyone witnessed this incident or has any information that could help police, call 207-874-8575.
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