William Benton, listed on Massachusetts State Police Ten Most Wanted List. Photo courtesy Mass. State Police
YARMOUTH – State Police have added a Cape Cod man suspected in separate stabbing and shooting incidents to their Ten Most Wanted List.
William L. Benton, 22, fled after skipping a scheduled court date and is now wanted on five arrest warrants in Barnstable County.
State Police say he’s accused of stabbing another man during an argument at a home in Yarmouth on April 18. The alleged victim needed emergency surgery after suffering life-threatening wounds.
Benton ran from the scene of the stabbing but was later captured by Yarmouth police and charged with attempted murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
He’s also suspected of firing a gun at another man during an argument at Keyes Memorial Beach in Hyannis on May 10, 2014. State Police say the man who was shot at was with his child at the time.
No one was injured and Benton was arrested a short time later by Barnstable police on firearms and assault charges.
The State Police violent fugitive apprehension section is assisting local police in searching for Benton.
He is known to have access to firearms, knives and other weapons and is considered armed and dangerous. Authorities describe him as white, 5’7″ tall and approximately 145 lbs., with black hair, brown eyes, a scar on his left cheek. He also has several tattoos: the grim reaper on his back and images of a flower, frog and flag on his left forearm.
Benton was living in Mashpee at the time of his alleged crimes and has ties throughout the Cape.
