A man who allegedly stabbed a woman in Craig on Monday evening told police he “needed to stab someone to go to prison,” according to the affidavit for arrest.

Jack Trapp, 27, of Craig, was arrested Monday and charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and felony menacing.

Craig Police were dispatched to the 500 block of Yampa Ave. at 7:19 p.m. in the city after receiving a report of a disturbance. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered a female victim who had suffered multiple stab wounds, according to Craig Police Chief Mike Cochran.

According to the affidavit, the initial dispatch call was for an assumed domestic violence situation, and law enforcement “did not know what was going on” until bystanders told them someone had been stabbed.

Law enforcement officers detained Trapp after a witness held him at gunpoint until help arrived on the scene.

The witness told officers that she was sitting on Yampa Avenue when she heard a scream and saw the victim “barrell roll onto the ground,” states the document.

According to the affidavit, the witness stated that she saw a man “bent over” the victim and allegedly “jabbing at her with a knife in the lower abdomen in the back.”

The victim was seen tucked into a ball, “trying to protect herself,” the document continues. The witness then drew her gun and chased Trapp until an officer was able to assist.

The affidavit notes that the woman did not fire her weapon, and officers collected the gun. According to Cochran, the witness had a valid concealed carry permit.

While on the scene, Craig police officers saw Trapp’s car still on with the keys in the ignition. Officers also found a “black folding knife with an orange cap on it,” closed and lying on the road next to the driver’s side door, states the affidavit.

During an interview with officers at Memorial Regional Hospital, the victim stated that she parked her car at her house and was walking to the Yampa Valley Brewing Company.

The victim saw a vehicle pull up “really fast to the curb” and a man get out of the car and run at her while yelling, states the affidavit. She then tried to say hello, thinking he had the wrong person.

“I turned around and … he just kept hitting the back of my head, I don’t even know,” the victim told police in the affidavit. “I just remember trying to protect my head. I fell on the ground, and he just kept hitting me while I was on the ground.”

After the witness drew her weapon and chased Trapp away, the victim went into the Yampa Valley Brewing Company, where her friend and boyfriend were at the time. 

According to the affidavit, the victim did not know she had been stabbed until a bystander noticed the severe wounds in the brewery.

“I thought he might kill me and that I was going to be really … injured by the end of this,” the victim told police in the affidavit.

The document states that the victim suffered three stab wounds on the back of her neck, the left shoulder on her back and her hairline. As of Thursday afternoon the victim remained hospitalized, according to Cochran.

During an interview with law enforcement, Trapp said that he was “hearing noises telling him to do something bad,” according to the affidavit.

Trapp said that he had no money, was struggling in his job and “barely had a place to live,” states the document.

“(Trapp) said that he saw a girl walking on the side of the road and he thought that he would rather be in jail or prison, so he got out of his car and stabbed her,” continues the document.

When police asked Trapp if he knew the woman, he said no, and “she was just the first person he saw after he decided that he needed to stab someone to go to prison,” the affidavit states.

Trapp added that he stabbed the woman’s neck because “if he killed someone, he would stay in prison,” the document adds.

According to the affidavit, police told Trapp that there are a lot of other crimes he could go to prison for, and asked why he chose to stab someone. Trapp said he was desperate and “saw an opportunity.”

Since 2019, Trapp has been convicted of vehicle theft, two separate counts of third-degree assault and unlawful use of a controlled substance, according to criminal history documents provided by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

As of Thursday afternoon, Trapp remained in the Moffat County Jail under a $500,000 bond. A protection order for the victim was issued in the event that the bond is met.

Trapp’s next court appearance in Moffat County Combined Courts is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. July 30.

Editor’s note: Every person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent unless and until their guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.