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Police Arrest Suspects After Good Samaritan Stabbed

AVON, Colo. (CBS4)- Police said a man was stabbed while trying to keep the peace. Officers tracked down the suspects just a few hours later and the victim is expected to fully recover.

The 22-year-old man was walking home from a New Year's Eve celebration along Beaver Creek Boulevard in Avon about 2 a.m. when he saw a couple fighting on the side of the road.

He told police he didn't like how the woman was being treated by her boyfriend and stopped. An altercation followed and the man was stabbed three times, just missing major veins and his spleen.

Because of the frigid temperatures the man didn't realize he had been so severely injured until he got home. Then he called for help.

"I firmly believe because of the quick responses by the trained medics and firefighters, he's already out of the hospital. So he survived this incident," said Avon Police Chief Robert Ticer.

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(credit: CBS)

"I think any of those stab wounds would be considered dangerous. He's just lucky it didn't get into some of the arteries, the femoral or up in the brachial."

Police were already looking for the suspects wanted in connection with the stabbing, Nathaniel Malcolm and his girlfriend Morgan Leland.

Malcolm, 32, and Leland, 28, were wanted in connection with another altercation at a nearby hotel.

"Once we had a vehicle description from some other witnesses we found the suspects very quickly," said Ticer.

Police sent out text and email alerts to try to track down the white sedan connected to the suspects.

Since it was a holiday there were additional police officers in town. They set up a perimeter around Avon to search for the two suspects.

"We had a lot of patrol cars from state troopers to deputy sheriffs and police officers in the area. This is a priority call," said Ticer.

Malcolm and Leland were captured just a few hours later in the vehicle matching the suspect description. Both are from the Denver metro area and both face felony charges.

"Unfortunately they came up here and alcohol was involved and they made some bad decisions," said Ticer.

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