After waiving his preliminary hearing in Box Butte County Court, George Smith entered a written not guilty plea in District Court on July 22, waiving his appearance.
Smith is charged with second-degree murder, a class 1B felony, and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, a class 2 felony. The charges arise from an incident on June 19. According to the Affidavit for Custody, at approximately 7:25 p.m., emergency medical services responded to the report of a man in his 40s receiving a knife wound to the chest at 1020 Toluca Avenue in Alliance.
Officers with the Alliance Police Department also responded to the call. When emergency personnel arrived, they found Steven Oliver “laying in the lawn with two stab wounds in his torso,” the affidavit stated. A witness to the incident told officers the person responsible was inside the residence.
An officer saw a man identified as George Smith, 66, of Alliance, in the doorway of the residence, and he ordered Smith out. Smith did not comply and “told officers to shoot him,” the affidavit stated. Officers used a Taser to subdue Smith while an EMS rendered aid to Oliver. Officers located a bloody switch-blade knife at the scene.
According to the affidavit, the witness to the incident told officers they were the only people inside the residence at the time of the stabbing, and that she was asleep in another room. She said she awoke when she heard Smith yelling at Oliver, which evolved into a physical altercation. She exited the bedroom and saw Oliver with two stab wounds to the torso.
According the affidavit, the witness prevented Smith from leaving the residence while she rendered aid to Oliver. Oliver was taken to Box Butte General Hospital, where he succumbed to the injuries he received and was pronounced dead at 8:17 p.m. Smith was taken into custody.