Third Man Arrested in Pierce Stabbing

B O S T O N, Sept. 29 -- The third suspect in the stabbing attack that leftBoston Celtics player Paul Pierce hospitalized was arrested today in the nearby city of Lynn after police staked out the home of his girlfriend, authorities said.

William Ragland, 28, was taken into custody at 9 a.m. by membersof the Boston Youth Violence Strike Force, which had been watchingthe home since early in the morning.

Boston police spokesman Kevin Jones said police spotted Raglandthrough an open door when a female occupant of the house took outthe garbage.

Ragland was arrested without incident, Jones said. He was to bebooked in Lynn, and then transferred to Boston. It was notimmediately clear when Ragland would be arraigned.

Two Men Plead Innocent

Two other men, Tony Hurston, 31, and Trevor Watson, 34, pleadedinnocent at their arraignment Thursday, the day after they turnedthemselves in to Boston police.

Prosecutors say Pierce was attending a private party at theBuzz Club in Boston early Monday when Hurston came up from behindhim, punched him and then hit him on the head with a bottle asPierce lay on the ground.

According to prosecutor John Pappas, Watson and Ragland joinedthe fray and stabbed Pierce in the face, neck and back with aknife. One stab wound was 7 inches deep, prosecutors said.

Hurston has posted the $15,000 bail and was released from NashuaStreet Jail, according to his attorney, John Swomley.

Pierce, 22, required surgery to repair his damaged lung. He leftNew England Medical Center on Thursday, three days after thestabbing at the downtown Boston club.

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound Pierce averaged 19.5 points and rankedsecond in the NBA in steals with 2.08 a game. Pierce, anAll-American at Kansas, was drafted in the first round in 1998after his junior season.