Senior in jail after a knife attack

A senior citizen charged with attacking another man with a knife is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing on July 15.

According to Madera County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Bill Ward, Jesse Lee Barnett, 70, was arrested during an Independence Day party at Courthouse Park, on Yosemite Avenue and Gateway Drive, which happened on July 3. The fight, Ward said, happened after Barnett and the victim began arguing over a cigarette, and the victim pushed Barnett. Barnett, who was reportedly intoxicated at the time of the incident, is said to have then drawn a knife, stabbing the victim in the arm, and threatening to inflict further harm. The victim’s injuries were later treated at Madera Community Hospital.

“He assaulted me first,” Barnett said in court.

According to Ward, deputies were dispatched, but the suspect had already been apprehended upon their arrival.

“Barnett was detained by Madera Police officers before deputies arrived,” Ward said.

Barnett was later booked on a charge of attempted murder. This charge, however, was lowered to assault with a deadly weapon, along with bodily injury and threatening the victim.