Lawton man jailed for stabbing, mayhem

A Lawton man is in jail on $47,500 combined bond for allegations he stabbed a man on Saturday and trashed a laundromat in February.

Elijah Hilkiah Ziegenfuss, 32, made his initial appearance Wednesday in Comanche County District Court where he received a felony charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in one case and malicious injury to property over $1,000 in the other. The assault count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Lawton police responded to a stabbing call around 7:45 p.m. Saturday at 1302 NW Victory Blvd. and put out a be on the lookout (BOLO) for a man pushing a shopping cart away from the scene. The man, later identified as Ziegenfuss, was stopped at Northwest 17th Street and Lawton Avenue and he was holding a pocketknife, Officer Matthew Burton stated. He eventually dropped the knife and was taken into custody.

A search of Ziegenfuss revealed a large kitchen tucked into the collar of his shirt by the neck as well as a box cutter in his pocket and in his shopping cart, large metal pipes were recovered, the probable cause affidavit states.

A witness identified Ziegenfuss as the man who assaulted the other man, Burton stated.

Ziegenfuss had been wanted for a Feb. 27 incident at Rusty Tub Laundromat, 536 SW F. Security video showed Ziegenfuss near windows that ended up being busted out of the business with a rock, causing $3,500 in damage, the affidavit states.

Ziegenfuss has a prior felony conviction from November 2023 for prisoner placing bodily fluid on a government employee, records indicate.

Preliminary hearing conferences for both cases are set for 3 p.m. May 6, records indicate.