New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
“A 37-year-old New Bedford man who stabbed a romantic rival in the neck at the city bus depot in 2021 and then hours later physically assaulted another man was sentenced to serve up to eight years in state prison on Tuesday in Fall River Superior Court, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.
Talib Allah pled guilty to indictments charging him with Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon-Causing Serious Bodily Injury, and Assault and Battery.
On September 7, 2021, the defendant was at the bus depot across from the Picadilly Market when he saw the victim was also present. The two men had previously dated the same woman. The defendant screamed, “I’ll kill you” and then charged at the victim. The two men engaged in a fist fight. During the fight, as the victim was getting the better of the defendant, the defendant pulled a knife and stabbed the victim in the neck and then fled.
The victim was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery and received 19 staples to close the neck wound.
A few hours after the stabbing, New Bedford Police were called to another location in the city for a reported assault. In that matter the defendant started an argument with a second victim over an alcoholic beverage and physically assaulted him. When police located the defendant, he had dried blood around his face and hands. The blood evidence was swabbed and later confirmed to be the blood of the stabbing victim.
At the time of his arrest, he was on probation out of Hampden County, where he had served a three to five year prison sentence for armed assault and home invasion. In that case, he was also placed on probation for an additional two years, which was set to expire in June, 2022. When arrested, the defendant gave the false name of Charles Pullman in an apparent attempt to avoid a probation violation.
During the plea hearing on Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Catherine Sauter argued for a seven to 10 years state prison term, while the defense sought a four to six year prison sentence. Judge Raffi Yessayan sentenced the defendant to serve six to eight years in state prison.
“The defendant stabbed the victim in the neck during a violent confrontation in a public place and could have killed him. At the time of this incident, the defendant was on probation for another violent incident in which he served a prison sentence. He needs to be kept off the street to protect the public from his propensity for violence,” District Attorney Quinn said.”
