Authorities: Cumberland man cut off part of roommate's ear

Willie Idell Howard, 49, of 2616 Warhorse St. in Fayetteville, was charged with maiming and was being held in the Cumberland County jail under a $5,000 bond.

Deputies said Howard intervened in an argument between his two roommates, Washanda Williams and James Daniel McKethan, and then he and McKethan began fighting.

Howard told deputies that he grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen to defend himself and cut McKethan along the left side of his face, ear and neck. Howard then fled the home but was arrested at a nearby convenience store.

McKethan was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where physicians said his left ear incurred extensive damage and is partially maimed.