Burlington man faces felony trial in ferry stabbing incident

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The Burlington man accused of stabbing another passenger on the ferry M/V Kennewick before it docked in Port Townsend Sept. 9 has been charged with second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon.

Gabriel Thomas Dignum, 22, was arrested by Port Townsend police just after the ferry docked Sept. 9.

Police said Dignum was traveling with a woman on the ferry when they got into an argument with another passenger on the boat.

The verbal dispute escalated into a physical fight and Dignum stabbed the other man in the back with a butterfly knife, according to a statement of probable cause prepared by the Washington State Patrol.

Crew members on the ferry broke up the fight and treated the victim’s wound.

Dignum changed his clothes while he was on the ferry in an attempt to avoid being identified by police, the State Patrol said in court documents.

The ferry crew alerted police of the assault at about 8 p.m., and officers from the Port Townsend Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and State Patrol responded to the Port Townsend Ferry Terminal. 

When the boat docked, the ferry crew and others aboard the vessel pointed out Dignum as the man involved in the stabbing, and was taken into custody by Port Townsend police.

Authorities said Dignum matched a description of the assailant, but noted his clothes did not match witness accounts.

Police later found clothes that matched witness reports in Dignum’s backpack.

Dignum also allegedly tried to hide an extra shirt that he had been wearing at the time of the assault under the seat of the patrol car.

A ferry worker who had stopped the fight also pointed out Dignum as the suspect.

The man who had been stabbed was treated at a local hospital and later released.

Police said Dignum’s traveling companion on the ferry, Katherine Abitia, attempted to obstruct officers after the incident and was also arrested.

Illegal drugs were found in her backpack, the State Patrol noted, but Dignum later claimed the drugs belonged to him after he had been taken to jail.

Dignum and Abitia were both booked into Jefferson County Jail.

Bail for Dignum was set at $100,000 and he remains in jail pending his trial in Jefferson County Superior Court.

Second-degree assault is a penalty, while possession of dangerous weapon is a gross misdemeanor.