Keith Self

CHARLESTON — An emergency bond hearing was held March 3 for a suspect in a stabbing homicide after he was attacked and stabbed in the county jail, said his attorney.

While Keith Maurice Gregory, 57, couldn’t show Circuit Judge Roger M. Young his wound in court, he has a long gash on his stomach from a jail surgery, according to attorney Bentley Price, who said his client had been jumped and stabbed multiple times.

Gregory had been held without bond in the slaying of Raymond Prince, a 53-year-old man who died Dec. 16. He’d been beaten and stabbed to death, according to a police report.

Police quickly identified Prince after finding him dead behind an abandoned home. Prince had been wearing the same clothes from days prior when officers had stopped him for trespassing, Gregory’s attorney said.

Gregory and Prince had “known each other forever,” Price said. So when his client spotted Prince wandering around his yard on James Bell Drive, Gregory thought he could get him to leave.

But Prince pulled a knife and stabbed Gregory multiple times, Price said. Hospital staff later confirmed Gregory had been slashed in the chest and arm, among other places, Price said.

At some point during the attack, Gregory grabbed the knife and defended himself. Gregory stabbed Prince then fled to seek medical attention, Price said.

Gregory was arrested on Jan. 15, nearly a month after the attack.

“(Gregory) is a victim in this case,” said Price. “He was attacked, yet he’s charged with murder.”

The judge granted Gregory a $100,000 surety bond. He is to remain under house arrest while his case is pending.

Gregory doesn’t know why Prince was on his property, Price told the judge.

It’s unclear if Prince’s death was tied to a murder he’d been accused of nearly two decades prior.