A Farmington man accused in a June 6 stabbing death was arraigned Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty to second-degree murder.
Fidel Curtis, 26, had been sentenced to five years of supervised probation 2½ weeks before allegedly stabbing Jacob Sharp under the Broadway Bridge in downtown Farmington.
Sharp collapsed at 1:34 a.m. atop the Broadway Bride near the intersection of Broadway and Wagner Avenue. He was stabbed in the stomach, and the wound “penetrated approximately four to five inches striking the aorta,” causing significant internal bleeding that led to his death, according to the autopsy.
Farmington Police investigated the stabbing by interviewing witnesses and reviewing footage using the department’s Real Time Crime Center.
The video footage reportedly showed Curtis and Sharp around 1:26 a.m. walking together and “going into the dark, underneath the bridge,” according to the affidavit for arrest warrant.
At 1:33 a.m., the video shows Sharp “running out from under the bridge” and then up to street level “where he collapses and dies from his stab wound,” the affidavit said.
When in court Tuesday, District Judge Curtis Gurley asked if the defense and prosecution were ready to proceed with a probation violation hearing.
Defense attorney Mary Stubberud said she was not ready and the new felony case was of “a very serious nature.”
There also will be “major obstacles” with the DNA, according to the audio log notes for the hearing.
Assistant District Attorney Keith Mandelski said DNA samples were supposed to be submitted to the state lab and the “autopsy has not been received yet.”
Judge Gurley reset the hearing for 90 days out, asking the attorneys and Curtis to be back in court at 9 a.m. Nov. 16.
Curtis is being held in the San Juan County Detention Center.