Witnesses shed light on stabbing in Glenwood

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado – The victim in an early Sunday morning stabbing incident in downtown Glenwood Springs nearly bled to death before enduring six hours of surgery to save his arm, according to his wife.”He was basically dead and had to be resuscitated before they could go into surgery,” Amanda Diaz, who witnessed the fight outside the Loyal Brothers lounge around 1:20 a.m. Sunday, told the Glenwood Springs Post Independent.Her husband, Doug Diaz, 28, remained in Valley View Hospital on Wednesday.The incident led to second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault charges against Toby Aaron Gallegos, 27, of Glenwood Springs.Gallegos posted $15,000 bond and was released from the Garfield County jail later in the day on Sunday. He is scheduled to appear in Garfield County District Court Oct. 27 to answer to the felony charges.According to an arrest affidavit filed by the Glenwood Springs Police Department, the altercation began in front of Loyal Brothers when Doug Diaz allegedly hit a friend of Gallegos’ and knocked him to the ground.Gallegos told police he went to the back alley to smoke a cigarette with a female friend, who saw Diaz and identified him as the one who had hit Gallegos’ friend.Gallegos, who was reportedly covered in blood when police talked to him, reportedly said Diaz walked toward him and threw the first punch, sending him to one knee, but that he didn’t remember what happened next, according to the affidavit.Other witnesses, however, said it was Gallegos who was the aggressor and pulled a knife before attacking Diaz.”Amanda [Diaz] stated [that] as Gallegos pulled away, she then began to see blood going all over,” the affidavit states. Another witness reportedly stepped in and kicked the knife out of Gallegos’ hand and punched him, knocking him to the ground.Police found an open Smith & Wesson folding knife in the alley with blood on it, according to the affidavit.Gallegos was initially arrested on the felony assault charge only. The attempted murder charge was added due to the serious nature of Diaz’s wound, according to police.”They were able to save his arm,” Amanda Diaz said. “We were pretty fearful for a couple of days that he would lose it. We’re still looking at a year or two of extreme physical therapy.”jstroud@postindependent.com