SCOOP: Arrest made in Lake Lure stabbing at Tiki Bar
Lesley Darnell Mulkey, 42, is charged with multiple felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon and being a fugitive from Georgia.
Joshua Allen Hartzfeld, of Hendersonville, is now out of the hospital after being stabbed at a popular Lake Lure bar on Sept. 2, according to a friend of the victim. Lesley Darnell Mulkey, 42, was arrested on Sunday, Sept. 3, by Lake Lure police. (The incident report and court records show his name spelled Lesley, while the detention center records show his name as Leslie Darnell Mulkey.)
On Saturday night, Lake Lure police officers were dispatched to 3147 Memorial Highway, Geneva Riverside Hotel & Tiki Bar, “a local favorite,” as described by their website, in reference to an assault with a knife. Sergeant Carl Umphlett and Reserve Officer Keith Morris initiated a search for the suspect, who had fled on foot. Patrol Officer Caleb Oates responded to the scene and immediately rendered medical aid to the victim. The Tiki Bar property manager, Terry Pelkey, wrote in a local Facebook group that “Les was asked to leave and stabbed another guest.”
Officer Oates told me (Cops & Congress by Annie Dance), “Mulkey was last seen walking by Riverside Park (in Chimney Rock). It was an isolated incident and there’s no threat to public safety at this time. So everybody can go about enjoying their Labor Day, what’s left of their Labor Day weekend.”
According to the press release issued on Sept. 6 by Lake Lure Police Chief Sean Humphries, “Officers were unable to locate the suspect, so warrants were secured. The victim was transported to the hospital.”
On Sunday morning, “Corporal Aaron Collins received a tip in reference to a suspicious person in the Chimney Rock area. Upon arrival Corporal Collins and Patrolman Tyler Dills found the suspicious person to be the suspect from the assault the night before,” Humphries said.
“Mr. Mulkey was arrested and transported to the Rutherford County Jail,” according to the release. Rutherford County Detention Center records show that Mulkey is charged with the following: Resisting a public officer - obstruct and delay (Bond: $2,500), Extradition/fugitive other state (Bond: $50,000), Carrying (a knife over 3.5 inches in length) concealed weapon (Bond: $75,000), and AWDW (assault with a deadly weapon) inflicting serious injury (Bond: $75,000). Read the incident report and incarceration report for more details.
Editor’s note: A request for comment was made to Mr. Hartzfeld through his friend. This story was originally published on Sept. 4 and last updated on Sept. 7 with new details from Lake Lure police. This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.
Situational awareness: A scoop is an important news story that is first reported by a journalist. Scoops are often original, surprising, or exciting, and are likely to interest many people. This goes a step beyond breaking news when no other journalists are known to be reporting on an important issue.
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About Annie Dance
Annie Dance has been a journalist for over 20 years and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a concentration in Journalism from Manhattan College. She completed 42 credits for a Master of Arts in Communication degree at Fairfield University. She has been published in local, national, and international publications, including Hearst newspapers and websites, CTInsider.com, NewsTimes.com, and others. She is the Founding Editor of Western NC Deaf Community, a public Facebook group, where she covers deaf issues and leads discussions for ways deaf people can get better access to news and information in the 19 counties of western North Carolina. She was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss as a child and is an accessibility advocate, especially for using closed captioning.
Dance has experience in government affairs, media, and public policy. She is a registered unaffiliated voter and strives for fairness, truth and accuracy.
Dance grew up in Raleigh and the northeast. She served on local and state commissions in Connecticut for several years prior to moving to Rutherford County, North Carolina in 2020. She worked on local, state, and federal Republican candidates’ campaigns, including Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District.
She aims to shine a light on important issues and hold officials accountable with Cops & Congress, focusing on police, policy and public records in the Lake Lure area of North Carolina’s 11th congressional district.