The Little Rock man who was fatally stabbed last week handed the man who is now a suspect in the case a knife moments before, according to court documents.
Roderick Damon Mills, 29, was arrested Friday on first-degree murder charges in the slaying of Nicky Anthony, 58, who was stabbed in his neck on March 12 near downtown Little Rock.
Officers were sent at 6:42 p.m. that day to 2921 Springer Blvd., where first responders reported the stabbing, according to previous reports. A MEMS ambulance took Anthony to UAMS Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
In an affidavit for Mills' arrest, investigators said they saw a trail of blood leading from the Nehemiah House, an addiction-rehabilitation center where first responders found Anthony, toward a shed in the parking lot of Jericho Way, a city-funded resource center for people who are homeless.
In the shed, officers found more blood and a man who said he'd witnessed the stabbing, the affidavit said.
The witness, who told investigators that he had stayed in the shed with Anthony for several weeks, said Mills walked into the shed Tuesday night and accused Anthony of taking his knife.
The witness, who was not named in the affidavit, said he and Anthony were asleep on opposite sides of the shed when Mills walked in and demanded his knife back.
Anthony pulled a red-and-blue knife from his pants and handed it to Mills, who claimed it belonged to him and took it back, the affidavit said. The witness said Anthony was still lying on the ground when Mills stabbed him in the neck and ran.
While bleeding heavily, Anthony got up and walked across the street to call for help, the affidavit said.
The witness decided to wait in the shed. Anthony walked alone toward the Nehemiah House, where an employee found him bleeding and called 911, the affidavit said.
The employee -- who was not named in the affidavit -- said Anthony leaned against a chair just outside the front door and stopped moving.
The employee waited with Anthony until first responders arrived, the affidavit said.
The witness in the shed identified Mills as the killer in a photo lineup, the affidavit said, and police arrested him three days after the stabbing.
Mills was in the Pulaski County jail in lieu of a $200,000 bond as of Tuesday evening.
Metro on 03/20/2019