Worker killed in stabbing at Mich. meat processing plant
A fatal workplace altercation at a Michigan pork processing plant has left one employee dead and another facing criminal charges.
Brandon Eduardo Velasquez Chavez, 21, was fatally stabbed during an argument with a coworker at the Clemens Food Group processing facility in Coldwater, Michigan, according to the Coldwater Police Department.
Police said officers responded to the plant at about 7:45 p.m. on June 29 after receiving reports of a stabbing. Investigators said Chavez and a 20-year-old coworker were working near one another when a verbal dispute escalated. Authorities allege the coworker stabbed Chavez in the back.
Emergency responders attempted lifesaving measures, but Chavez was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect, identified by police as Valmir Djempsley, was taken into custody and lodged at the Branch County Jail. According to 13 ON YOUR SIDE and News Channel 3, Djempsley was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
Coldwater Public Safety Director Joe Scheid told News Channel 3 that the dispute appears to have involved work-issued knives used by employees at the processing facility.
“From what I know right now, the knives are identified by the employees. They are given numbers, and they’re given to employees by that, and there was a dispute over a knife,” Scheid told the station.
Scheid also described the challenges first responders faced inside the large industrial facility.
“You have a large industrial commercial operation, and you’re doing the best to try to save somebody’s life, and it’s a very challenging situation,” he told News Channel 3.
The homicide investigation remains ongoing. Coldwater police said anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sgt. Sarah Gunneman.
Multiple agencies assisted in the response, including the Branch County Sheriff’s Office, Michigan State Police, Coldwater Fire Department, Lifecare Ambulance and the medical examiner’s office, according to the Coldwater Police Department.
Clemens Food Group operates pork processing facilities in several states, including the Coldwater plant, which employs hundreds of workers.
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