Report: Man charged with assaulting prostitute at Rock Hill motel

Two people were jailed after an alleged prostitution transaction-turned assault at a Rock Hill motel, according to Rock Hill Police.

Officers met with 72-year-old Larry Baker at the Howard Johnson on Riverview Road Wednesday afternoon, where they found Baker with a cut on his upper left arm, according to a police report. He told officers he had been stabbed by a woman on the second floor.

The woman, 30-year-old Krystal Martin, told officers she met Baker outside the motel room with another man, and they agreed to an arrangement in which Baker would pay Martin $45 for a sex act.

Martin said Baker walked into the room, removed his clothes and they initiated the sex act, during which Baker said he wanted to go to his room at the Econo Lodge, the report states. When Martin refused, Baker reportedly grabbed her by the arms and pinned her against the bed.

Martin said that after a brief struggle and fearing for her safety, she grabbed a knife from under the pillow and stabbed Baker once in the upper left arm, police said. She then pushed him out of the room and threw his clothes and belongings onto the walkway behind him.

Baker, however, told officers a different story about the incident.

He said an unidentified man approached him at the Econo Lodge and asked “if he was looking for a good time and would like to meet a woman,” the report states. He went to Martin’s room at the other motel, but “did not want to participate in any sexual act,” he told police.

He claims Martin then produced a knife from under her pillow and stabbed him in the arm, the report says.

The report notes “Baker had a deep laceration to his arm where his shirt would have been covering, yet the shirt he was wearing was clean and undamaged.”

When asked about the inconsistency, Baker told officers Martin ripped his shirt off before stabbing him, yet the buttons on his shirt were still in place, police said. Officers found Martin’s statement more probable.

Baker was charged with third-degree assault and battery and solicitation of prostitution. He remained in the Rock Hill city jail Thursday under $1,500 bond. Martin was charged with prostitution and released Wednesday after posting $470 bond.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Report: Man charged with assaulting prostitute at Rock Hill motel."