Press release from the Asheville Police Department:
Asheville Police Department arrested a Swannanoa man Friday for using a knife to slice another man’s tent while he and his friend were sleeping inside, then robbing a man of his jacket.
APD officers responded to a campsite located behind a business near the 1600 block of Tunnel Road around 8 a.m. Friday, Feb. 18, to investigate the crime. The victim said that while he and another man were sleeping in their tent, the suspect used a knife to cut open their tent and told them he would kill them and to give them everything they had. That’s when one of the victims gave him his jacket.
Police officers were able to track down the suspect still in the area and placed him under arrest.
John W. Saunders, Sr. (9/02/1963) was charged with Armed Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Damage to Personal Property. He was transported to the Buncombe County Detention Center for booking with a secured bond of $10,000.
The victims were not injured. The suspect, however, did receive injuries to his hand and was initially treated by Buncombe County EMS and later at Mission Hospital prior to booking.
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