Man Charged with Knife, Hammer Attack on Woman

A man faces assault and other charges after police say he held a knife to a woman's throat during an altercation at a Paducah home.

The Paducah Police Department said 44-year-old Jhah Rizen, who police say also goes by Jonathan Young, was arrested Thursday morning on charges of second-degree assault, second-degree unlawful imprisonment, tampering with physical evidence and second-degree terroristic threatening.

Police said a woman called them just before 3 a.m., after she said Rizen fell asleep and she was able to escape his home in the 2800 block of Trimble Street. She told officers Rizen became angry on Wednesday and assaulted her, punching her in the face and hitting her with a hammer. She said he held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her, then refused to let her leave.

Rizen also reportedly smashed the victim's cell phone with a hammer to prevent her from calling for help. The victim's face was bruised and swollen, and she lost several teeth in the assault.

Detectives served a search warrant Thursday morning at Rizen’s home. During the search they located a hammer, several knives and a tooth.

Rizen was seen discarding items in a dumpster behind his apartment building. Detectives said they found a broken cell phone inside the dumpster believed to belong to the victim.

Rizen reportedly has prior convictions for first-degree assault, second-degree assault, theft, burglary, first-degree wanton endangerment, unlawful imprisonment and two counts of possession of stolen explosives.

He was released on parole from a 40-year prison sentence in October 2017 and placed at Keeton Corrections halfway house in Paducah, where he was released last January.