LARNED — Friday evening at approximately 5:35 p.m. the Larned Police Department, the KBI and the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Department responded to a stabbing incident at 317 W. 3rd Street in Larned. 

When officers arrived they discovered a 40-year-old female outside of the home suffering from a stab wound. They also discovered a 48-year-old male, later identified as Guillermo Rodriguez Veliz, injured from what is believed to be a self-inflicted laceration to his neck. Veliz, who lived at the residence, allegedly stabbed the woman and attempted to cut his own throat. He could face attempted second-degree murder charges awaiting a KBI affidavit, according to Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett.

The woman and Veliz were transported by EMS ambulance to Pawnee Valley Community Hospital accompanied by a deputy and a state trooper who assisted in restraining the combative Veliz. The woman was flown to a Wichita hospital for further treatment of her injuries. As of Wednesday morning, she was in stable condition and expected to survive.

After Veliz was treated and received 12 stitches at the hospital he was then taken to the Pawnee County Jail to be screened by mental health for transfer to Larned State Hospital. That is when the frustration set in for the Pawnee County Sheriff’s office, Sheriff Scott King said.

“Fortunately, because we have had troubles in the past getting the State Hospital to efficiently admit patients after mental health screening, I called the Ford County Sheriff asking if they could house the prisoner if we ran into a problem. It is a good thing I did that because it took over 40 hours, until Monday, to get the State Hospital to admit the patient.” 

After Veliz was released from the emergency room and received the mental screening, the State Hospital wanted a second visit to the emergency room. King said that put a strain on sheriff department staff because they had to transport Veliz at 4 a.m. with only one deputy. 

On Monday Veliz was taken from the Ford County Jail to Larned State Hospital after meetings with two different doctors, with differing opinions, regarding his admittance.

“For quite some time we’ve had this problem of the State Hospital not promptly admitting a patient after the mental health screening has been completed,” said King. “Most jails are simply not equipped to hold these kind of patients. It is not just Pawnee County but all of the counties in our part of the state that have this problem with Larned State Hospital.”