Self-defense argued in Butler stabbing trial
A 69-year-old Butler man said Tuesday in Butler County Common Pleas Court that he stabbed another man in self-defense on South Main Street in Butler one year ago.
Paul Leslie Lenzi testified in his defense against felony charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault that Butler City police filed against him after he stabbed Ryan Troup, 40, of Butler, multiple times on Sept. 20, 2021.
Lenzi testified after a police officer and two witnesses testified in the morning session. A jury of five women and seven men began deliberating in the afternoon and will return Wednesday morning to continue deliberating.
Troup said that at the time of the incident, he was waiting for a friend to return from a restaurant near where he was parked. He had bungee cords holding down the hood of his car.
Then, Lenzi approached, asking if Troup needed any help with the hood, adding that he used to be a locksmith. Troup went to the front of his car to release the bungee cords when Lenzi starting stabbing him.
“I never tried to hit him,” Troup said.
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