A vehicle slammed into the Circle K at 500 N. Clark Road in Show Low Saturday morning, and inside that same car, a woman was stabbed multiple times before the suspect took off on foot. Police say the man accused in the attack, 42-year-old Tucson resident Cheves-Lee Hayes Inabnett, was eventually located inside a cell tower enclosure near a Dollar General, where he surrendered after a standoff with officers.
Dispatchers received calls at 10:27 a.m. Saturday reporting the crash and stabbing at the store, according to the Mountain Daily Star. The Circle K sits near State Route 260 and Cooley Road, according to KOLD. Responding officers found the woman inside the vehicle suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to Show Low police, and she was airlifted from the scene to a nearby hospital, where she is listed in stable condition.
Inabnett fled the store on foot immediately after the attack, per the same account, and officers soon located him inside a cell tower enclosure adjacent to the Dollar General — just a short distance from where the crash and stabbing occurred. A standoff followed before he surrendered to police, who then booked him into jail on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, armed robbery, disorderly conduct with a weapon, trespassing, and criminal damage.
A Long Drive From Tucson
Inabnett's home city sits roughly 180 miles south of Show Low, a mountain community of about 12,400 residents in Navajo County's White Mountains, according to USAFacts. What brought him that far north remains unclear. Show Low Police are still investigating and have asked anyone with information to call (928) 537-4365, per KOLD's reporting.
Steep Potential Sentence Under Arizona Law
The charges Inabnett faces carry serious weight under state statute. Attempted first-degree murder is treated as a Class 2 felony in Arizona, carrying a standard sentencing range of 7 to 21 years in prison when charged as a dangerous offense, according to AZ Defenders. Armed robbery is a Class 2 felony; when charged as a dangerous offense, a conviction at trial carries a mandatory minimum of 7 years with probation legally off the table, per Matthew Lopez Law.
A Commercial Corridor With a Violent History
The Clark Road area has seen tragedy before. In November 2016, Show Low Police Officer Darrin Reed was fatally shot near Clark Road and West Deuce of Clubs during a disturbance call, an incident that triggered a statewide Blue Alert and a hostage standoff before the suspect died in nearby Lakeside, according to KTAR News. The Mountain Daily Star reported that several agencies assisted in the response to this incident.
Show Low's violent crime rate runs well above national norms: the city recorded 91 violent crimes in a recent reporting year, a rate of 737 per 100,000 residents — more than double the national average.
The investigation into Saturday's attack remains ongoing, and no court appearance dates had been publicly released as of this report.
