Man hurls racial slurs, stabs person who backed into his truck, prosecutors say

A Montana sex offender was charged Friday with stabbing a man who backed into his truck after hurling racial epithets at the man and a companion during a trip to Tacoma earlier this month, Pierce County prosecutors allege.

Michael Wilkins, 35, of Great Falls faces charges of first-degree assault, second-degree assault and felony harassment in Pierce County Superior Court. He has been charged but not yet arraigned.

According to charging documents:

Wilkins was back in Tacoma, where he’d lived before, after registering with the state of Montana to visit for a week.

He was at a bar in the 700 block of St. Helens Avenue on July 8 when he came outside to find someone had backed up into his truck.

The man who hit Wilkins’ truck admitted to it, parked his car and checked to see if there was any damage to either vehicle.

Wilkins punched him in the face, and a fight ensued.

Things were quickly broken up, but Wilkins remained angry, shouting racial slurs and threatening to kill the black man who had hit his truck.

Wilkins, who is white, said it was OK for him to use the racial slurs because he is married to a black woman.

At that point, his wife told him it was time to leave, so he went toward his truck.

Instead of leaving, Wilkins came back with a 6-inch knife and came toward the man’s friend.

The man stepped in between them, only for Wilkins to stab him twice. One of the cuts left a 5-inch slash, but the other was a puncture wound that cracked a rib and punctured one of the man’s kidneys.

Wilkins and his wife then left the scene in his truck.

The victim was hospitalized for several days because of his injuries. He was able to identify Wilkins from a police lineup.

This story was originally published July 29, 2017 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Man hurls racial slurs, stabs person who backed into his truck, prosecutors say."