Lafayette Man Arrested On Attempted Murder Charges

A 23-year-old Lafayette man has been arrested on charges that he tried to kill the man who gave him a ride home.

Capt. Kip Judice, Public Information Officer for the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, says deputies responded early Wednesday morning to a reported stabbing on Sapphire Street.

"Lafayette deputies were able to locate [26-year-old] Marc Manzo with a cut approximately 10 inches long to the throat/neck area," Judice says.

Deputies learned that Manzo offered a ride home to Gentry Richard, who was evidently drunk, near Willow Street and the Evangeline Thruway. As Manzo tried to help Richard into his Sapphire Street home, however, Richard pulled out a knife and lunged at Manzo, causing the injury, Judice says.

Deputies were able to find Richard at his home, where they say he became very "aggressive and hostile," Judice says.

Judice says officers were eventually able to take him into custody and book him into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center on charges of attempted second-degree murder.

Manzo was taken to a local hospital where he was in stable condition, Judice says.