At 7:15pm, Sunday June 13th, the Curry County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received a 911 transfer call from the Brookings Police Department regarding a report of a stabbing.
The female caller, Jennifer Lee, reported that her boyfriend, forty-two year old Christopher Phillips of Harbor had been stabbed in the neck by a neighbor. Sheriff’s Deputies responded quickly along with Cal Ore Life Flight Ambulance and arrived within minutes of the call.
Phillips was rushed to the Brookings Emergency Room and with what little information provided by Lee, Deputies learned the suspect was the neighbor, Justin Graziano. According to Lee, prior to Phillips becoming unresponsive, Phillips told her that the neighbor stabbed him with a large knife. Deputies found a substantial amount of blood throughout Phillip’s residence but determined the incident between Phillips and the neighbor took place somewhere outside the residence.
Brookings Police responded to the Emergency Room and stood by while Sheriff’s Deputies continued the investigation at the scene. While at the Brookings Emergency Room, the condition of Phillips deteriorated as he was in critical condition. Emergency Room doctors and staff were able to stabilize Phillips, and plans were made to have Phillips flown to a hospital in Medford.
A request was made to the Oregon State Police for a Crime Scene Analyst. A State Trooper responded and assisted by mapping out the crime scene. A Sheriff’s Detective arrived and took over the investigation and the Curry County District Attorney was notified and responded to the scene.
At about 8:00pm, Deputies located Justin Graziano at his residence and detained him. Sheriff’s Detectives gathered evidence at the residence of Phillips and applied for a search warrant for Graziano’s residence.
During this time, Deputies learned that while Cal Ore Life Flight Ambulance was transporting Phillips to the Crescent City Airport to fly him to Medford, they had to detour to Sutter Coast Hospital due to the deteriorating medical condition of Phillips. While at Sutter Coast, Phillips underwent emergency surgery and as of Monday, June 14th, Phillips was still at Sutter Coast Hospital in ICU and was in stable condition.
A Sheriff’s Detective interviewed Graziano while waiting for approval of a search warrant of his residence. The search warrant was granted by a Curry County Circuit Court Judge, the residence was searched, and the weapon allegedly used was located and seized.
Graziano was then transported to the Curry County Jail and lodged for Assault in the First Degree, Assault in the Second Degree, Menacing, and Unlawful use of a Weapon.
The Curry County Sheriff’s Office will continue the investigation.
