Clinton Clarke Allegedly Stabbed Man Who Got Into Wrong Truck at Strip Club

We've all done it — gone up to a vehicle in a parking lot that looked like ours only to discover it was actually someone else's.

In general, though, we don't get stabbed for making this mistake.

That's apparently what happened to a customer of a strip club in Grand Junction — an incident that led to the arrest of Parker resident Clinton Clarke, who had a knife but has reportedly stabbing anyone with it.

And that's only one of the strange details in this story.

The location of the incident was Fantasy Gentlemen's Club, which we wrote about in August 2013 owing to a lawsuit filed by exotic dancers at the venue. Among other things, the complaint cited an alleged payment structure that included exorbitant fines for a whole range of actions — such as ponying up $50 plus increased stage fees if a customer touched a dancer's vagina.

At about 1:40 a.m., according to the Grand Junction Police Department, a club employee called 911 after a man came into the venue with what were described as stab wounds to his stomach and chest.

The working theory early on: The man had been in the club, went outside, got stabbed and returned.

During the investigation that followed, investigators stopped a pickup truck that matched the description of one seen leaving the parking lot around the time of the stabbing. The pair of occupants included Clarke, but both were subsequently released.

Clarke wouldn't remain free for long. 

The officer who'd quizzed Clarke and his compatriot subsequently eyeballed surveillance video showing that their truck had indeed been the one that had split from the club around the time of the stabbing, the GJPD maintains.

Shortly thereafter, the truck was located again as Clarke and his pal were walking away from it. Clarke then told the officer that he had a knife under his jacket, and the cops say it was smeared with residue "consistent with blood."

As for what happened, investigators believe the victim mistakenly got into the backseat of Clarke's truck and was there when the men emerged from the club.

A witness told police he saw Clarke holding a knife — and the victim was holding his stomach when he got out of the truck.

For his part, Clarke "told officers he did find the victim sitting in the backseat of the truck but denied stabbing him," the GJPD allows.

Clearly, the cops aren't buying that. Clarke has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree assault with intent to cause serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon, as well as carrying a concealed weapon.

Meanwhile, the man who got into wrong truck remains in a local hospital.

Look below to see a report about the incident from KKCO-TV.

Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.