Jamestown Man Faces Felony Charges After Alleged Knife Attack

Gilbert David Balderas, 38, appeared in Southeast District Court on Wednesday facing a felony charge after he allegedly cut a woman's face with a razor blade and then denied to police that he had possessed or disposed of any knife.

According to court documents, the victim picked up a kitchen knife, told Balderas to stay away, and poked him on the shoulder. Balderas then took a box cutter/razor blade from his pocket and sliced the left side of her face. She sustained a cut to the inside of her bottom lip, a chipped tooth, and a laceration on her face. The Jamestown Area Ambulance transported her to Jameson Regional Medical Center, where she was advised to fill out a medical release form.

Responding officers located shoeprints in an alleyway and recovered a kitchen knife with red residue, possibly blood, on the blade inside a garbage can. Officers seized the kitchen knife, a razor blade knife, and Balderas' shoes as evidence.

Balderas was placed under arrest on suspicion of aggravated assault and tampering with physical evidence. He denied having a knife and denied disposing of one. Formal charges filed against him include aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, along with assault and giving false information to a law enforcement officer about the location of a knife, both Class A misdemeanors.

Balderas remained in the Stutsman County Correctional Center as of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. His preliminary hearing and arraignment is scheduled for April 1 in Southeast District Court.