A man suspected of stabbing another man on Main Street in Cortland nine days ago is now facing attempted murder and weapon felony charges, after investigators say the attack was no random act but a targeted assault between people who knew each other. Henry C. Monroe, 38, was taken into custody in Vestal on September 29 and now sits in Cortland County Jail as the case proceeds.
According to WXHC.com, Cortland Police responded to an apartment at 176 Main Street at approximately 12:30 a.m. on September 27, where officers found a man suffering from serious stab wounds. The victim was first taken to Guthrie Cortland Medical Center before being airlifted to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, where he underwent hours of surgery and was last listed in critical but stable condition. That Syracuse facility operates Central New York’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, serving a 14-county region, according to SUNY Upstate Medical University — a detail that underscores how serious the victim’s injuries were judged to be in the first hours after the attack.
Police Surround Quality Inn Before Suspect Slips Away
Hours after the stabbing, Cortland Police surrounded the Quality Inn on Clinton Avenue, believing Monroe was inside a room where he resided, but officers stood down after he failed to respond and was not located inside, the station’s report notes. Cortland Police identified Monroe as the suspect and noted that while he was living homeless in Cortland at the time of the stabbing, his last known permanent address was in Orlando, Florida, per the same account.
Monroe was eventually taken into custody in Vestal on September 29, days after the standoff at the Quality Inn came up empty. The multi-jurisdictional effort to locate him stretched across Cortland and Broome counties and drew in the New York State Police Homer Barracks, the Cortland County Sheriff’s Office, and the Vestal Police Department, according to Newport Dispatch.
Charges Carry Up to 25 Years Under State Law
Monroe now faces attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, all felonies. Court records indicate one of the weapon counts was charged as third-degree criminal possession under New York Penal Law § 265.02, an enhanced charge tied to a prior criminal conviction involving a knife or cutting instrument, per a Facebook post from CBC 13.045.
Attempted murder in the second degree is classified as a Class B violent felony under New York Penal Law § 70.02 and § 110.05, carrying a maximum statutory sentence of up to 25 years in state prison upon conviction, according to the NYS Senate Open Legislation records. Cortland Police have reported that investigators determined the stabbing was an intentional, targeted act of violence, and that Monroe knew the victim, rather than the attack being random.
Prior Weapon Arrest
This is not Monroe’s first run-in with felony weapon charges. In December 2025, New York State Police arrested Monroe in Cortlandville and charged him with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a Class C felony, after troopers found an unlicensed handgun and ammunition in a vehicle during a disturbance, WXHC.com reported at the time.
At his initial court appearance in Cortland City Court on September 29, Monroe pleaded not guilty and was remanded to Cortland County Jail without bail, under a temporary order of protection issued by Judge Lawrence J. Knickerbocker.
Cortland Police say New York State Police, the Cortland County Sheriff’s Office, the Cortland County District Attorney’s Office, and the Vestal Police Department all assisted in the investigation, which remains ongoing. The case has been formally designated as incident number C26-15690, led by Detective Sergeant Kyle Green, for anyone with information to reference.
