Case Against Pullman Stabbing Suspect Quickly Upgraded To Attempted Murder – Pullman Radio

The case against the 38-year-old Pullman man accused of stabbing a Moscow man was quickly upgraded to attempted murder.

Cesar Marmolejos made his first appearance in Whitman County Superior Court Tuesday morning after initially being arrested on a charge of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. Shortly before the hearing, the Pullman Police Department sent an amended statement of probable cause to the Whitman County District Attorney's Office for attempted second-degree murder.

The updated court document shows Pullman police believe Marmolejos tried to kill the 22-year-old Moscow man when he allegedly stabbed him at the Sunset Mart. Pullman police were called to the convenience store on Bishop Boulevard around 5 p.m. Monday afternoon. The initial call reported about a half-dozen people fighting and one man had a knife. The victim drove to Pullman Regional Hospital in a private vehicle before being flown to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane with a severed artery. The man is expected to be released from the hospital today.

The victim told Pullman officers that Marmolejos said he was going to kill him. Marmolejos reportedly told police he tried to stab the man in the heart and first tried to wrestle the gun he usually carries from him. Marmolejos also told police that he and the victim had a long-standing dispute.

Marmolejos has no prior convictions, but his criminal history includes charges of violence in South Florida that were eventually dropped. He told Pullman police he was jailed in Miami in 2016 for attempted murder. His official criminal history in Maimi includes a 2009 charge of aggravated assault and a 2015 charge of aggravated battery. Both cases were dropped by South Florida authorities.

Marmolejos was ordered to post $750,000 cashless bail by Judge Gary Libey during his initial court appearance Tuesday morning. He is expected to be arraigned Friday.

It's the latest in a highly unusual string of violent cases in Pullman, marking the third case of murder or attempted murder since last fall.