Incident occurred in hallway of Platte City hotel
Authorities have charged a local man who police say swung a machete at another man inside a Platte City hotel with felonious assault and armed criminal action.
The incident took place around 12:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, April 7 in a hallway at the Quality Inn & Suites, located at 1201 Branch Street (Hwy. 92) in Platte City.
The 911 call of a man being attacked with a machete resulted in a major police presence responding to the scene, including multiple officers from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, multiple deputies from the Platte County Sheriff’s Department and multiple officers from the Platte City Police Department.
Platte City Police Sgt. Mike Mand, one of the officers on the scene Thursday, told The Landmark both men involved could be described as “local” and said the two men knew one another.
Both men involved in the incident were taken to the hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. The victim received cuts from the attacker’s machete and the suspect received injuries in the resulting fist fight in the hallway and down a flight of stairs, according to court documents.
The suspect charged with felony counts of assault and armed criminal action is Brian Michael Edwards, 35, of Platte City. He is in custody in the Platte County Jail with bond set at $250,000 cash only. He has requested a bond review, which is scheduled to be heard on April 19.
According to court documents, as officers and deputies arrived on the scene a party later identified as the victim exited the front lobby area of the hotel with his arm wrapped in a towel. Officers moved him to a safer area.
Officers then observed Edwards, later identified as the suspect, standing in a window of a room on the south wing of the building. Court documents indicate officers commanded Edwards to put his hands on his head and come out the window. Edwards complied and officers had him go to the ground and took him into custody.
While at the hospital, Edwards told officers that the incident stemmed from his car allegedly being stolen the night before. According to court documents, he had not reported the stolen car to police. He told officers that he went looking for his car in Kansas City and when he did not find it he returned to Platte City. He stated the victim had contacted him wanting him to come to the Quality Inn.
According to court documents, Edwards told police he entered the hotel through a rear door with the machete in hand. He said he searched the halls for the other man and went to the room where the man usually stays and went inside. A female was present in the room. He told police he deadbolted the door with the woman in the room. He looked through the peep hole and saw the other man using the telephone in the hallway. According to court documents, Edwards told police he opened the door and told the other man “run” and Edwards then ran after him, swinging the machete, according to court documents. He told police they then got into a fist fight and rolled down the stairs, and when they landed the other man started kicking and punching him.
The victim told police that for the past few days Edwards had been texting “weird things” to him. He said he was working at the motel when he saw Edwards go into his room where the female was present. He said he heard Edwards yelling at the woman. The victim told police he was going to go call for the police in the lobby when Edwards opened the door and came out swinging the knife. The victim told police he backed away but realized Edwards wasn’t going to stop so he rushed towards Edwards, attempting to get the knife. According to court documents, this is when his left hand got several cuts and his right upper arm sustained a 6-10 inch laceration. He also suffered a 10-plus inch laceration on his back upper right torso.
The victim told police at one point he threw Edwards down a set of stairs, and seeing the knife lying under him, he went down the stairs and grabbed the knife, throwing it further down the stairs. He told police that he kicked Edwards while they were on the second stairwell landing.
The female told police that she was in the victim’s room when Edwards forced his way in with the machete in hand. She told police Edwards was waving the machete around and was wanting to know who stole his car. She told police that Edwards looked “high” and was also looking for money while in the room. The victim arrived and was trying to get in the room, she told police, and Edwards left the room.
According to court documents, the woman told police she heard the two men fighting and said she believes Edwards took a swipe with the machete at the other man, who then defended himself. She told police the two men ended up on the floor below and she saw the machete on the floor so she took it and went to another room. She told police while in that room she could hear Edwards outside the room talking to himself. She said then officers arrived and she gave the machete to them.
According to court documents, Edwards has a criminal history that includes incidents of possession of marijuana, opiates, stimulants and narcotics, driving while intoxicated and manufacturing controlled substances.