Fox Man Indicted On Attempted Murder Charge

A Fairbanks man accused of attacking his roommate with a pair of scissors has been indicted on charges of attempted murder and felony assault.

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By Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Story Created: Oct 12, 2011 at 8:10 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Oct 12, 2011 at 8:10 AM AKDT

FAIRBANKS — A Fairbanks man accused of attacking his roommate with a pair of scissors has been indicted on charges of attempted murder and felony assault.

Both men were taken to jail when Alaska State Troopers investigated last week because the suspect’s roommate was wanted by Texas authorities for an alleged probation violation.

Troopers were called to Fox at 2:43 a.m. on Oct. 3 in response to a report of a man with a pair of scissors chasing another man near the Fox General Store. Troopers determined Michael D. Staton, 28, had attacked his roommate, James Craig Birdwell, 30, according to a criminal complaint against Staton.

Birdwell had numerous injuries including a bloody nose and a swollen eye, troopers said. Troopers found a blood-soaked white T-shirt on the northbound lane of the Steese Highway that Birdwell reportedly shed while fleeing.

Birdwell told troopers that Staton woke him up and began punching him and hitting him with a door and a fan before trying to stab him with the scissors. In Birdwell’s bedroom, troopers found a door off its hinges, a box type fan and a pair of scissors with a cracked joint.

Staton told troopers he was the aggressor, but said he was “forced to be the aggressor,” troopers said. He told troopers his roommate came home and confronted him about something and put his hands on him. Stanton told troopers he doesn’t react well when someone puts their hands on him.

Staton and Birdwell were both taken to Fairbanks Correctional Center.

A grand jury returned an indictment for Staton that was published Friday.

Troopers were working with a sheriff’s department in Texas to have Birdwell extradited, according to the criminal complaint against Stanton.

Contact staff writer Sam Friedman at 459-7545.

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