LOUISA, Ky. — A clerical error allowed a Lawrence County man accused of attacking two people to remain free for nearly a year.

Philip Hart, 26, of Louisa, was arrested in December of 2022 and charged with assaulting and strangling his wife and stabbing another man.

Hart told police he had a knife in his back pocket while arguing with his wife, and the victim was stabbed accidentally when he tried to intervene. But others in the house had a different story, saying Hart was on top of his wife, choking her with his forearm, when the other man and his mother tried to intervene. Witnesses said Hart then grabbed the knife and stabbed the other man multiple times. The victim had two stab wounds.

Hart was taken to jail, but had to be released in February of 2023, after the grand jury still hadn’t indicted him after 60 days. He was indicted the following month, but was apparently never arrested, after court records say an officer inadvertently marked the warrant as served.

A new warrant was issued last week after the error was discovered, and Hart was arrested on Sunday. He is now being held in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville on a $20,000 bond.