St. Cloud man arrested after stabbing, beating

A St. Cloud man is in Benton County Jail after calling 911 to say he had stabbed a man shortly after midnight Friday, according to a news release from St. Cloud police.

Elija Dale Creech, 31, told the 911 operator that he had a stabbed a man at his apartment and that the victim was going to die, the release states. The apartment is in the 1200 block of East St. Germain Street.

Officers found the victim, a 20-year-old St. Cloud man, at the scene with knife wounds on the front, sides and back of his neck, and a stab wound to his cheek. Investigators were told that Creech and the victim had argued over playing a card game called "Magic the Gathering," and that the argument led to Creech hitting the man in the face with a rubber mallet and stabbing him seven times.

The victim was taken by ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital and treated for "substantial" injuries, the release said, but the injuries are not known to be life-threatening at this time.

Creech was booked into jail early Friday.

Creech was convicted in 2013 for possession of an explosive with intent. That plus information from the overnight investigation prompted the St. Cloud Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team to do air quality tests Friday morning at his apartment. At 11 a.m. Friday, police investigators with a warrant also searched the apartment.

The air and several unknown substances at the scene all tested negative for hazardous materials, the release said. Investigators seized several pieces of evidence related to the case.