Garvin
By Noah Crenshaw | (Franklin) Daily Journal
FRANKLIN — A Taylorsville man gave conflicting stories about how he allegedly accidentally stabbed an Edinburgh man early Monday morning, prosecutors say.
Steven Charles Garvin, 34, is charged with voluntary manslaughter, a Level 2 felony, and possession of methamphetamine, a Level 5 felony, in the fatal stabbing of 48-year-old Michael Gene Adair Jr. of Edinburgh. The charges were filed Friday afternoon in Johnson Superior Court 3.
Edinburgh police officers responded to the report of a stabbing at about 12:22 a.m. Monday in the 6400 block of E. State Road 252. Arriving officers found Adair had been stabbed in the chest. Officers and Edinburgh medics attempted life-saving efforts at the scene, but Adair could not be revived, said Doyne Little, Edinburgh police chief.
Garvin and another man had been detained by police before an investigator’s arrival. Four other people were at the apartment before the stabbing, according to a probable cause affidavit.
A witness told detectives that Adair did not want people at his apartment, but Garvin said he was allowed to stay — asking the witness to use their phone to text Adair and let them know they were there. Adair arrived and asked for people to leave, and two people left, leaving Adair, Garvin and the witness, the affidavit says.
Garvin and Adair began to argue afterward and got close together. The witness then heard Adair yell, “you b****,” before seeing a knife sticking out of his chest, the affidavit says.
Adair asked for the witness to put pressure on the wound, and they did. Adair was initially conscious and standing, but soon collapsed and the knife fell out of place, according to the affidavit.
The witness told police Garvin began to panic, screaming and running around the apartment. The witness performed CPR, and Garvin assisted before they asked him to call for help. Garvin appeared to do so, the affidavit says.
Garvin then ran out of the apartment, returning with another man. The witness left to get a relative of Adair’s, returning with them as police and medics arrived.
The man Garvin returned with told police he had been spending time with Adair before driving him to his apartment. He saw Garvin run out, telling him that he accidentally stabbed Adair. The man entered the apartment with Garvin, later finding Adair on the floor, according to the affidavit.
While in custody at the Edinburgh Police Department, Garvin asked several times if Adair was OK. Investigators told him Adair was dead and Garvin reportedly acted as if he was crying, but no tears were observed. He also said he and Adair were “only playing,” the affidavit says.
Investigators later listened to the 911 call Garvin made, telling dispatchers his friend had “fallen on a knife.” This was different from what he told one witness, and what one witness told investigators, according to the affidavit.
At the Johnson County jail, a sheriff’s office detective reportedly observed Garvin acting as if he was crying, but again no tears were observed. Throughout an interview with the detective, Garvin allegedly changed his story multiple times about how Adair was stabbed.
While Garvin did not accuse anyone else of stabbing Adair, he reportedly denied they had an altercation. He said no one had stabbed anyone and that they were only messing around and playing “grab ass” as they always did, the affidavit says.
Garvin added that he did not “kill that dude.” He also told investigators neither of them had anything in their hand and were not angry with each other, the affidavit shows.
At one point, Garvin reportedly said it was as if the knife suddenly appeared in Adair.
During the interview, Garvin reportedly said the “playing” started when Adair slapped the back of his neck with two fingers. When he turned back around, he saw the knife in Adair, who later pulled the knife out, according to the affidavit.
Investigators say this was not consistent with what Garvin previously told them, the affidavit says.
Garvin had reportedly gone to Adair’s apartment to meet up with someone to trade drugs. He had heroin and traded it for methamphetamine, Garvin told investigators. Police recovered the meth from the scene, the affidavit shows.
During a subsequent interview, Garvin asked about the potential charges, later saying that 20 years was justifiable. Detectives later reenacted Garvin’s version of events with him.
Garvin allegedly told police he was cutting up drugs to share with Adair, and Adair eventually struck Garvin in the back of the head a few times with his fists. Garvin pushed Adair back, and Adair then stepped toward Garvin, who had a knife in his hand, according to court documents.
Garvin demonstrated how he made a swinging stabbing motion at Adair.
Investigators say Garvin then realized what he done and told Adair to not pull the knife out, the affidavit says.
Garvin was previously convicted of dealing meth in 2017.
An initial hearing for this case has not yet been set.
