A Memphis man is now charged with attacking two homeless men in recent months

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — A veteran of the US Army accused of shooting dead a homeless man is also accused of attacking another homeless man with a knife in downtown Memphis, court documents show.

Karl P. Loucks, 41, was charged with aggravated assault on June 25 after police said he slashed a man twice with a knife, according to Shelby County court records.

The man told police that Loucks entered a portable toilet where he sleeps every night and began to grab him before Loucks cut him behind his left ear and on his right thumb, causing the man to bleed, according to a police affidavit. The man, who was taken to the hospital, said he did not know Loucks.

Loucks was charged with first-degree murder on May 31 in connection with the fatal shooting of Shaun Rhea. Police launched an investigation into whether there was evidence that Loucks had attacked other homeless people.

Blake Ballin, Loucks’ attorney, has said he is investigating whether Loucks acted in self-defense during two confrontations with Rhea. Ballin declined to comment Monday on the assault charge.

Loucks is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Loucks attacked Rhea in the early morning hours in downtown Memphis, police said in a separate statement. A security guard at a nearby hotel said he saw Loucks pepper spray Rhea while Loucks was armed with a knife, police said.

Loucks entered his apartment but returned and shot Rhea with a rifle, police said, citing the security guard’s statement. Rhea, who was unarmed, died at a hospital, police said.

Loucks was an Army health care specialist from September 2007 to August 2013, according to Bryce S. Dubee, an Army public affairs spokesman. Loucks served in Afghanistan from March 2009 to March 2010 and left the Army with the rank of private first class.

Loucks was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army because he was disabled due to post-traumatic stress disorder, Ballin said.

The guard told police there had been multiple incidents in which Loucks had attacked homeless people, the police affidavit said. Investigators were looking into whether Loucks had attacked homeless people in the past, Memphis police said.