SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Ajay Christopher Butcher, 26, was arrested on Tuesday, accused of aggravated assault aggravated assault, first-degree criminal trespassing, and disorderly conduct with a weapon. He is also facing a probation violation matter and a warrant out of New York.
Scottsdale Police said officers responded to a hotel near Scottsdale Road and Shea Blvd after an adult male entered the hotel lobby yelling for help while suffering from apparent stab wounds and bleeding. Officers provided medical assistance before the victim was transported to the hospital.
According to court records, a front desk employee called 911 after the man entered the lobby covered in blood and requesting help.
The victim told officers he had been staying in the hotel since May 29 for work, with a scheduled checkout of June 4. During his stay, he said he met Butcher outside the hotel and the two spent time together socially over the following days.
According to court records, on the evening of June 2, Butcher was in the victim's hotel room and asked to borrow the victim's vehicle to purchase a firearm. The victim declined, saying he needed the truck for work the next morning. Butcher allegedly left the room briefly, returned, and asked again. The victim again refused.
The victim then went to bed. According to court records, as the victim was falling asleep, he heard Butcher begin showering in the room. The victim was later allegedly awakened to find Butcher on top of him, stabbing him multiple times with a pocketknife. When the victim attempted to escape, Butcher is accused of blocking the door before the victim eventually was able to flee the room.
The victim was transported to the hospital with multiple deep stab wounds to his right cheek, right upper arm, right wrist, and left upper arm, as well as numerous lacerations to his hands according to court records. He allegedly required surgery due to tendon damage. Officers said they observed blood evidence throughout the hotel lobby and in the hallway leading to the room.
Scottsdale Police said Butcher fled the scene on foot and was arrested shortly after in a nearby parking lot. Police said Butcher is claiming self-defense for the assault. Detectives and crime scene specialists responded to continue the investigation, and police said the details of the event are still under investigation.
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Shortly after the stabbing, at approximately 10:39 p.m., a separate 911 call was received from a different hotel, which said a man had attempted to steal a vehicle by jumping into the driver's seat. The reporting party and the vehicle owner removed the suspect from the car before he fled on foot.
At 10:51 p.m., a homeowner called 911 after her backyard lights triggered and she spotted a man running through her yard screaming. Shortly after, another caller from a different home reported that while she was in her kitchen, her dog began barking and a man approached her door, pushed it open, and entered her home. She pushed him out and he fled.
A police aide parked in a nearby parking lot allegedly then spotted a man matching the suspect's description running through the lot. Officers arrived and took the man into custody. He was identified as Ajay Christopher Paul Butcher. As officers were detaining Butcher, they say the woman whose home he had entered drove through the parking lot and positively identified him as the man who had come through her back door.
During a post-Miranda interview, Butcher told officers that while he was lying on a pull-out sofa bed, the victim got into the bed where he was lying and began touching him without consent. Butcher said he reached for a knife and began stabbing the victim as a reaction to past trauma. He told officers he knew he was stabbing the victim in the neck area and that he wanted to "eliminate the threat." When asked what that meant, Butcher said he did not care if he killed the victim, he just wanted it to stop.
The victim denied Butcher's account when officers asked him about it. Investigators noted that a large amount of blood was found on the main bed on top of the mattress, not on the pull-out sofa where Butcher claimed he had been lying.
A knife was recovered from the hotel room and collected as evidence. Butcher's New York driver's license was also found inside the room.
At his initial court appearance, a judge set a secured appearance bond of $100,000 on the new criminal case. On the New York warrant matter, Butcher has a fugitive from justice hearing scheduled for June 15 at 1:30 p.m. and a secured appearance bond of $75,000. His total bond between the two cases is $175,000.
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