Man arrested in screwdriver stabbing

Yuma police have arrested a man in connection with a stabbing early Thursday morning in a shed in the 1100 block of South 3rd Avenue.

Chrystian Little, 32, made his initial appearance in Yuma Justice Court, where he was informed by Yuma Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart that he was being held on one count of attempted homicide and one count of aggravated assault for allegedly stabbing a female companion with a screwdriver.

“The basic facts of the case, as I understand them at this point, is he stabbed a woman with whom he had a domestic relationship with, stabbing her a number of times, including the neck, face and eyes,” said prosecutor Levi Gunderson of the Yuma County Attorney's Office.

Stewart also explained to Little that he would be returning to court on Monday at 1 p.m., when he would be told if prosecutors had filed a criminal complaint against him, charging him with any of the offenses.

The judge also told Little that the charges, both felonies, involved domestic violence, which enhanced their sentences.

According to Sgt. Leanne Worthen, a spokeswoman for the Yuma Police Department, officers responded to a report of a stabbing at the location at about 5:47 a.m. Thursday.

An investigation revealed that Little and his 42-year-old female companion had gotten into a verbal argument and that he allegedly stabbed her multiple times on her torso and in the face. She was initially transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center for possible life-threatening injuries but later flown to St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix.

Little was arrested a short time later and booked into Yuma County Detention Center on charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault.

“He was found nearby after it happened,” Gunderson said. “He had blood on him. He had a screwdriver on him that also had blood on it. It is the belief that it is the screwdriver he used to stab her. Apparently there had been some sort of argument between him and the victim, she yelled at him and he stabbed her.”

Gunderson asked the court, based on the nature of the offense and that Little is possibly homeless, to set a substantial bond for Little, which the judge agreed to do, setting it at $1 million.