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MITCHELL — A 26-year-old Woonsocket man was arrested on charges related to a stabbing incident involving three victims on Sunday, Nov. 13.
Authorities responded at 1:31 a.m. to the 1100 block of East First Avenue for a reported stabbing. Upon arrival, responding officers discovered three stabbing victims with non-life-threatening injuries.
As a result of the investigation, 26-year-old Anthony Zotti was arrested on one count of domestic aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Both counts are classified as Class 3 felonies, which, if convicted, carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $30,000 for each count.
The Mitchell Police Department, in a media release, said alcohol appeared to be a factor in the incident and that all parties involved knew each other, but wouldn't provide further comment when questioned about specifics to the case.
Zotti is not unfamiliar to the Davison County court system. Last year, he was sentenced to two years in state penitentiary for incidents regarding biting multiple officers across multiple counties, most stemming from one incident on May 1, 2021.
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Zotti was initially stopped for speeding on May 1, and he provided a vehicle registration and insurance documentation, but failed to provide a driver's license. After running Zotti's information, the deputy discovered Zotti's license had been revoked following an incident in which he bit a Rosebud Sioux Tribal Police officer in 2017.
The deputy informed Zotti of the warrant and moved to make an arrest. However, Zotti convinced the deputy to allow him to drive his vehicle back to his place of residency about a mile away in Woonsocket to avoid it being towed. The deputy agreed, but Zotti did not park and instead led the deputy on a high-speed chase, reaching speeds of over 100 mph. When they managed to get him to stop the vehicle, it took eight sheriff and sheriff deputies, as well as three South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers, to bring Zotti into custody.
According the Sanborn County court documents, Zotti allegedly bit one trooper, "tried biting several others and made numerous threats to the lives of law enforcement and their families." In transit, Zotti managed to unbuckle his seat belt and bit another deputy on the elbow.
After pleading guilty on May 25, Zotti was sentenced on July 6, 2021 to two years in state penitentiary with credit for the 66 days he'd previously served, with the sentence to be served concurrently with his federal sentence for the 2017 biting incident. The Sanborn County case was dropped by prosecution shortly after on July 20.
Zotti's initial appearance for the current charges stemming from the alleged stabbing is set for Nov. 14.
