A dispute over beer outside a Harrisburg cafe turned into a stabbing late Monday night, leaving a man facing attempted homicide charges and sitting in jail without bail. Harrisburg police were dispatched at about 10:30 p.m. to Piccolo's Cafe in the 200 block of South 17th Street after dispatchers relayed that someone had been stabbed and the suspect was in a nearby parking lot.
According to PennLive.com, Dauphin County 911 dispatchers told responding officers that the suspect was in the parking lot of Hamilton Health Center, which sits across the street from the cafe. A 911 caller identified the suspect only as Sean, and the victim told investigators he recognized the attacker as Sean too, saying he had known him for years. Police later identified the suspect as Rashaan Basnight after showing the victim a photo, and he confirmed the identification.
What Police Say Happened
Investigators say the fight started over something mundane: beer. The victim and Basnight argued about it, and the dispute became physical, with the two men punching each other outside the cafe. At some point, the victim walked away for about two minutes before the confrontation escalated further, per the same account.
Here the record diverges on a key detail. Police told PennLive that Basnight stabbed the victim five times in the side and lower back, but charging documents cited by the outlet state that Basnight stabbed the victim twice in the side outside Piccolo's Cafe. Neither figure has been independently verified beyond those two accounts.
Arrest and Evidence
Charging documents say officers detained Basnight in the Hamilton Health Center parking lot, the same lot dispatchers had flagged to responding officers. A police K-9 then located a bloody knife near the health center, the report notes.
Basnight is now charged with criminal attempted homicide, aggravated assault, and possessing an instrument of crime with intent. He is being held at Dauphin County Prison, and a judge has denied him bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19.
A Separate Harrisburg Stabbing Case
The Piccolo's Cafe incident is not the only recent stabbing case in the city. In a separate matter, Harrisburg police identified James Armstrong, 51, of Harrisburg, as a suspect in another stabbing, and abc27.com reported that he turned himself in. Armstrong was charged with criminal attempt homicide, aggravated assault, and possession of an instrument of crime — the same set of charges Basnight now faces.
In that case, officers were dispatched to the 2000 block of North 6th Street at 4:58 p.m. Sunday for a reported stabbing, according to yahoo.com. Police said the victim in that incident suffered stab wounds to the left side of his torso and back, and doctors removed a piece of the knife blade that had lodged near his spine. He was listed in critical condition and was awaiting surgery, and Armstrong is awaiting a preliminary hearing in that case. The two cases remain separate and unrelated beyond the overlapping charges and shared city.
