MILL CREEK — An Everett man accused of stabbing an 11-year-old boy in a Dollar Tree in Mill Creek over a gaming insult last month has been charged with first-degree assault of a child.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Anna Alexander set bail Monday at $500,000 for Joshua Pence, at the prosecution’s request.
Pence, 29, had no criminal history, but deputy prosecutor Sarah Johnson requested the unusually high bail amount, arguing “the allegations in this case are extreme.”
Around 5 p.m. March 22, two boys ages 11 and 13 looked across the street and saw the younger boy’s neighbor, Pence. They called him an “NPC,” a video game term for “non-playable character,” according to the charges. An internet meme uses the term as an insult, representing someone who does not think for themselves and has no personality.
Witnesses reported seeing Pence chasing the two boys, into the Dollar Tree at 3414 132nd St. SE holding a roughly 5-inch kitchen knife, according to the charges. One of the boys reportedly yelled, “It’s not that serious!” before Pence allegedly grabbed one of them.
Surveillance footage showed Pence pinning the 11-year-old against a shelf, according to the charges. The Everett man stabbed the child once in his side, prosecutors alleged. The suspect reportedly tried to stab the other boy, too, but the 13-year-old was able to move out of the way.
Witnesses in the store told police the attacker then dropped the knife and walked outside. Pence reportedly sat outside of the store and cooperated with police as he was detained, according to court documents.
Police found the 11-year-old boy in the back of the store. The 13-year-old was covered in his friend’s blood, charges say. The injured child was taken to Providence Regional Medical Everett before being transferred to the trauma unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a partially collapsed lung, the charges say.
In the hospital, the injured boy told investigators Pence lives in an apartment near him. He and his friend had called Pence an “NPC” in past interactions.
At his arraignment Monday, the defendant pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault of a child and attempted first-degree assault of the other boy.
Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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