Police were there twice for a dispute, but the third time one of the men was stabbed

A Hanford man is accused of stabbing a neighbor in a dispute that escalated throughout the day, according to police reports.

Officers went to the home in the 600 block of 11th Avenue twice before the stabbing, with Rick Whitfield and Raymundo Sanchez involved in a continuing verbal confrontation, Hanford Police Lt. George Hernandez said Thursday.

Police were called again at 10:17 p.m. Wednesday and found Whitfield stabbed and Sanchez, 32, standing in the middle of the street, where he surrendered to police.

“We’re not sure what the dispute was over,” Hernandez said.

Whitfield, 26, suffered wounds to the abdomen and was taken to Kaweah Delta Medical Center. He was listed in critical but stable condition, Hernandez said.

Sanchez was booked into Kings County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder. His bail is $500,000, according to jail records.

This story was originally published July 20, 2017 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Police were there twice for a dispute, but the third time one of the men was stabbed."