Kemar Downer Arraigned on 2 Stabbing Charges as Lawyer Cites Self-Defense Video

Q: What feud between two local truck drivers erupted into a violent public stabbing on a busy Nantucket street?

The stabbing appears to have grown out of a street confrontation between two local commercial drivers — one driving a Myles Reis garbage truck and the other a Sayles Seafood delivery truck. Witnesses told local outlet the Current that the men were involved in a verbal dispute that turned physical, with punches exchanged, before one of them allegedly pulled a knife. Police said the incident was reported at 10:23 a.m. Tuesday on South Beach Street between Broad and Oak streets, in the alley behind The Juice Bar and The Rose & Crown. What sparked the feud has not been publicly established. Authorities have only confirmed that a suspect was detained and that the case remains under active investigation. The victim was treated at the scene, described by witnesses as alert and conscious, and then taken to Nantucket Cottage Hospital. Staff from nearby businesses, including Stubby’s, reportedly tried to help stop the bleeding after the injured person ran toward The Strip. So, the known dispute was between a Myles Reis garbage truck driver and a Sayles Seafood delivery truck driver, but the underlying cause of their feud remains unclear.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 24

Kemar Downer, 40, was arraigned Wednesday in Nantucket District Court on two assault-and-battery charges with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury after Tuesday’s downtown stabbing near the ferry terminal.
Defense lawyer Rob Moriarty said video shows Downer was punched about three times in the back of the head and kicked before pulling a pocketknife, calling the footage “complete and total self-defense.”
Police records cited by local media say Downer told investigators he was delivering juice to The Juice Bar when he was attacked; a witness also said he briefly grabbed a 10- to 12-inch kitchen knife inside the shop before employees took it away.
The alleged victim, a Reis Trucking employee, suffered a suspected punctured lung and a 2.5-inch arm laceration likely requiring surgery, then ran toward Broad Street before bystanders helped him.
Downer was released on $2,500 bail with GPS monitoring, no-contact and stay-away orders, as the case rattled Nantucket’s busy summer downtown and added detail to earlier reports of a truck-driver dispute.