Man faces prison in knife attack

A former Carson City business owner accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and nearly blinding her in a knife attack waived a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Xue Bao Chen, 46, is expected to plead to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon - each carrying a penalty of one to six years in prison - when he appears in Carson City District Court on Oct. 19.

In exchange for the plea, a charge of battery with a deadly weapon will be dismissed.

According to court documents, Chen allegedly attacked Guina Wang on May 23, the morning after the couple allegedly argued over ownership of a restaurant on Highway 50 East that each had at one time been listed as owner of in city records. Their names are no longer on the restaurant, records indicate.

Investigators said that during the assault, Chen allegedly slashed the victim on her face, neck and eyelids. One gash was so severe, officers initially feared that the cut had punctured Wang's eye. Doctors determined it had not.

When Wang's roommate tried to intervene, Chen allegedly assaulted her as well.

He was arrested five days later at his apartment in Placerville.

This is the second time the couple has been involved in a domestic dispute.

According to court records, in 2005 Chen clubbed Wang on the head with a heavy object after arguing about the restaurant. He was arrested on a domestic battery charge that was later reduced to disorderly conduct. In 2007 all charges were dismissed because Wang was not cooperative, court records indicate.