WA DoorDash driver speaks out after vicious attack

CLALLAM COUNTY, Wash. - A suspect accused of stabbing a DoorDash driver multiple times in Clallam County and then stealing his SUV made his first appearance in court on Thursday.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Well and his wife with second-degree attempted murder and other felony charges that include a sentence enhancement for committing the crimes against a Good Samaritan.

The backstory:

Deputies arrested them near Port Orchard in Melvin Swagerty's SUV on Oct. 20.

The 60-year-old saw them and their seven young children on the side of the road and offered to give them a ride, but prosecutors say Well tried to kill Swagerty for his vehicle.

"The defendant proceeded to stab and slice the victim on the neck, face, head and chest. They then left the victim for dead and fled with his vehicle," prosecutors said in court.

Now, Swagerty is speaking out for the first time about the attack, describing what happened in his own words, and giving an update on his injuries.

"My recovery is doing really well. Everybody was surprised and shocked to see me out and about on my first dash on Saturday," Swagerty said.

Just three weeks after Melvin Swagerty was viciously attacked, he was back at work doing DoorDash deliveries in Port Angeles. His physical scars are healing after doctors removed 47 staples, but the emotional trauma will take much longer. He says the nightmares are the worst.

"I would basically just do a lot of tossing and turning, throw my arm up like I'm defending myself or something in my sleep," Swagerty told FOX 13.

He remembers everything that happened inside his SUV. As detailed in court documents, it was just after 8 p.m. on Oct. 19 when Melvin saw seven young children and their parents on the side of Highway 101. He was headed to Sequim to drop off a delivery, so he stopped to offer them a ride.

"I wasn't worried about the adults, I was worried about the children," he said.

Their father, Nicholas Well, was in the front seat next to him. Their mother, Roasrio Lopez-Castro, was in the back with the kids aged four-months to 9 years old.

They told him their car had been stolen and asked him to drop them off at a friend's house. He says everything seemed normal until, without warning, he was attacked and carjacked.

"Just as I was making my left turn onto Carlsborg Road, I heard the lady in the back seat going, ‘Now, now, now,’ and I got about 10, 15 feet from the fire department there when the guy started stabbing me in my neck and everything else," Swagerty recounted. "And as he was stabbing to me, he goes, 'Why don't you die?'"

Melvin doesn't remember if he threw himself out of the truck or if he was pushed out. A driver behind him saw what happened, called 911 and stopped to help.

"I was on my hands and knees, and I see this pile of blood in front of me on the ground, and I saw my phone next to me had blood on it too. Don't know where my glasses went to, or anything like that. But yes, the Good Samaritan, whoever that was, I would like to thank him in person," Swagerty said, getting emotional.

Melvin was rushed to Harborview, where doctors told him they revived him after he died during surgery.

"Do you regret stopping to pick them up?," asked FOX 13's David Rose.

"Considering the fact I almost died, yes," Swagerty responded.

Kitsap County Sheriff's deputies found his stolen SUV about eight hours later with the family still inside. Melvin says he still hasn't gotten his car back, but even if he did, he wants nothing to do with it.

"I don't want to be anywhere near it. I don't want to see it. And I don't even want it back at all. The reason why is because after I found out from the detective that it's considered a biohazard, they basically, it's got my blood in it from the windshield all the way back," Swagerty said.

Court documents show Lopez told detectives they were paranoid because people were after them and wanted to kill their family. She told detectives it was because her husband knew the location of a "secret biker dope recipe." She said they thought Melvin was working with the group.

Moved by the kindness Melvin showed to the family, and by the photos of his injures, hundreds of people have donated to a GoFundMe to help Melvin.

Through it all, Melvin says his brother Martin has been there to support him every step of the way, even surpassing him this week with a new car from Dwayne Lane's Skagit Mazda that gave them every rebate they could find. 

Melvin doesn't plan to go back to delivering DoorDash full-time, as he still has physical therapy. While he's focusing on recovery though, he says he's looking forward to his day in court. 

"I would like to see justice where justice needs to be served. I want to see them get life. That's what I want," Swagerty said.

Melvin is a big Seahawks fan, so if you'd like to help him out, or even donate a couple of tickets to a game, you can do so online.

Melvin and his brother Martin also joined FOX 13's David Rose on the Seattle News Weekly podcast. Both brothers shared a powerful message of resiliency, strength, and talked more about what comes next for the suspect behind the attack.

You can watch the full episode on the FOX Local app, on the FOX 13 Seattle YouTube channel, or down below.

What's next:

Nicholas Well will be formally arraigned on the charges on Monday, currently being held on $750,000 bail. His wife, Lopez-Castro, is set to appear in court on Friday.

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