Man charged after downtown stabbing

A New Bern man was arrested Monday night and charged with stabbing a man during the weekend near a downtown nightclub.

The stabbing happened before dawn Sunday near Nikki's, a club at the corner of Bern and Queen streets.

Donnie Chapman, 51, of  Sunset Road, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. He is accused of stabbing Kurtis Armad Stewart, 29, also of New Bern.

Stewart told police that he was leaving Nikki's and walking toward Mike's Barber Shop when he got into an argument with a man sitting on a bench outside the shop.

"I'm not sure what they were arguing about, but at some point it turned into a physical fight," said police spokeswoman Beth Stevenson.

Stewart was stabbed during the fight. No one else was injured, according to police.

Police found out about the stabbing while they were at CarolinaEast Medical Center on an unrelated call.

Stewart came into the hospital emergency room just before 3 a.m. with wounds to his face and chest. From there, Stewart was taken to Pitt County Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released.

Police said witnesses helped them to identify Chapman as the suspect in the stabbing. Police identified Chapman as a suspect on Monday afternoon. He turned himself in at the magistrate's office Monday night.

He is in Craven County jail under $5,000 bail.

Nikie Mayo can be reached at (252) 635-5665 or nmayo@freedomenc.com.