All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

Attempted murder: Man stabbed while eating a cheeseburger Monday night

Gabriel Santiago Siachica Mesa

BUCKHANNON — A Buckhannon man has been arrested for allegedly stabbing another man as he was eating a cheeseburger Monday night.

Gabriel Santiago Siachica Mesa, 26, of Buckhannon, was arrested for attempted murder and malicious assault, both felonies, according to the criminal complaint written by Corporal P.J. Robinette with the West Virginia State Police.

Robinette said he was called to a home on Little Sand Run Road shortly before midnight on Monday, May 13, in reference to a stabbing. Once on scene, he found that the victim, Eduin Exavier Orellana Martinez, had been stabbed once in the chest and twice in the back, allegedly by Siachica Mesa, who then left the residence.

Robinette spoke to a witness about the attack.

“[The witness] stated, Mr. Siachica Mesa stabbed Mr. Martinez unprovoked while Mr. Martinez was sitting on a step outside eating a cheeseburger,” Robinette wrote in the complaint. “Mr. Siachica Mesa told [the witness] to ‘watch out’ in Spanish prior to the incident, which led him to believe something was about to happen.”

The witness ran inside to call 911, and Siachica Mesa left the residence, according to the complaint. He was found the next day by an Upshur County Sheriff’s deputy at McDonalds in Buckhannon and placed into custody.

“During a Mirandized statement, Mr. Siachica Mesa stated he did stab Mr. Martinez one time with a kitchen knife following a verbal argument between the two,” Robinette wrote in the complaint. “Mr. Siachica stated he and Mr. Martinez had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana prior to the incident is the reason he had the kitchen knife in his possession. Mr. Siachica Mesa stated he then ran to the ‘mountains’ because he was unfamiliar with the area and needed to rest.”

Bond was set at $250,000 cash by Upshur County Magistrate Alan Suder, and Siachica Mesa was ordered to have no contact with the victim.

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