Teen at Cleveland Co. home when deputy was stabbed says suspect isn’t dangerous

CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. — A man accused of stabbing a Cleveland County deputy while he was trying to serve an arrest warrant has his first court appearance Wednesday morning.

The incident happened just after 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at a home on Stillwater Road. Deputies said they were there to serve an arrest warrant to James Daniel Bolin.

When they arrived, deputies were told there were two children inside of the home with Bolin. The children were not Bolin’s and were not being allowed to leave, according to authorities.

Deputies said that, as they tried to negotiate with Bolin to safely release the children, he tried to keep deputies from coming inside the home. Fearing for the safety of the children, deputies decided to enter the home.

Officials said Lt. John Humphries was the first deputy to step through the door, and he was immediately attacked by Bolin with a large knife.

Humphries was stabbed twice, in an exposed area around his bullet proof vest, before other deputies were able to take Bolin into custody, authorities said. Humphries was taken to a hospital for his injuries, but he has since been released.

“It’s a sad day in Cleveland County when one of our own is viciously attacked with a knife,” said Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman. “Deputies have interacted with the offender many times, but today he took it to the next level by stabbing Lt. John Humphries. By the grace of God, the knife did not hit any vital organs, or this incident could have easily turned out very differently.”

Bolin was charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault inflicting serious injury, and two counts of kidnapping.

On Wednesday, Channel 9′s Ken Lemon spoke to 15-year-old Phanece La Count, one of the children inside the home. She said she wants the kidnapping charges against Bolin dropped and that she doesn’t consider him dangerous.

At the time of the incident, she said she was sleeping when deputies knocked on her bedroom window that morning.

La Count said police asked her questions, and she wrote answers on a sheet of paper and showed them through the window. One of those questions was whether Bolin was a threat to her and her brother.

“I told them no each and every time,” she said.

La Count said she tried to let police in, but Bolin, whom she considers a stepfather, was dealing with psychosis, a mental illness that distorts reality.

“He told me not to open the door. I said they already saw me, I got to. He said no, they are here to kill me,” she said.

At that point, she said deputies kicked open the door and jumped on Bolin. At one point, she ran out of the home and did not see Humphries hurt.

“Unfortunately, violent attacks on law enforcement officers are up across the nation, but this type of conduct will not be tolerated in Cleveland County. We will work closely with the district attorney’s office to prosecute Mr. Bolin to the fullest extent of the law. The citizens of Cleveland County, along with myself, are tired of hearing about these kind of attacks, and it has to stop now,” Norman said.

Lemon was in court Wednesday when Bolin faced a judge.

His mother was also in court and told Lemon the stabbing was not intentional. She said it was an accident and that Bolin has been diagnosed with psychosis. She said he needs help, not jail.

The judge decide Bolin was a threat to the public and gave him a $1 million bond for attempted murder and a $50,000 bond for the assault.

The sheriff said his officers acted believing Bolin was about to barricade himself into the house with two children. He told Lemon that their actions are under review.

No other details have been released at this point.

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