PHILIP A. HOLMES/Sun-Gazette City police work at a crime scene in the 300 block of Locust Street where a 36-year-old man was stabbed to death early Thursday morning. A male acquaintance was jailed Thursday night on homicide-related charges in connection with the death.

A 25-year-old city man has been jailed on homicide-related charges in connection with the stabbing death of another man early Thursday morning in the 300 block of Locust Street, city police said.

Rashawn D. Williams, of 321 Locust St., is charged with allegedly stabbing Scott “Scotty” Cole, 36, about “20 times in the face, head, neck and torso,” according to an affidavit filed by Agent Aaron Levan.

Cole was stabbed at Locust Street and Center Place, just outside Williams’ apartment about 1:10 a.m., Levan said.

Officers were dispatched to the area to investigate a report of “a man down, covered in blood,” Levan, the lead investigator, said.

“Cole appeared to have multiple puncture wounds throughout his head and torso,” he added.

A neighbor told police that he heard arguing coming from outside and heard “a man’s voice yelling ‘He’s killing me,’ ” the investigator said.

“What are you doing? What are you doing,” the witness, who ran outside, asked a man who appeared to be striking another man who was on the ground,” Levan said.

The alleged assailant, Williams, ran into his apartment, but he was taken into custody without incident in a matter of minutes after he came out a back door, Levan said.

Rushed to the UPMC Susquehanna Williamsport Regional Medical Center, Cole died in the emergency room at 1:46 a.m., according to Jerold Ross, the county’s chief deputy coroner.

Both Williams, who is on probation for weapons manufacturing, and Cole knew one another, police said, but investigators declined to comment on the motive for the killing.

There was evidence that the attack likely began near Williams’ front door on an elevated porch, where there were “blood droplets on the porch. There was an overturned white plastic chair at the base of the steps leading to the porch,” Levan said, adding he saw blood on the chair as well.

When police executed a search warrant at Williams’ apartment, they “found in the kitchen sink a badly bent knife with what appeared to be blood in the hilt of the knife, and the tip of the knife missing. Also in the kitchen was a bucket of water (containing) what was believed to be a cleaning solution,” Levan said.

Investigators allege Williams “locked access to the apartment and attempted to destroy evidence of a criminal assault by washing a knife in a kitchen sink,” the investigator wrote in the affidavit.

During his arraignment before District Judge Christian Frey, Williams said he also was convicted of drug and forgery offenses. Earlier he had been given hospital clothing to wear since police seized as evidence the clothing he had been wearing.

Charged with an open count of homicide, aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime, tampering with evidence and obstructing the administration of law, Williams was committed to the Lycoming County Prison without bail.