BANGOR – A Dexter man remained in fair condition Monday as the man accused of stabbing him in the neck remained in jail in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond.

James E. Prevatt III, 20, of St. Albans appeared before Judge Ronald Russell in 3rd District Court in Bangor on Monday afternoon charged with Class A elevated aggravated assault. Bangor lawyer Brad McDonald represented Prevatt at Monday’s hearing and said his client has serious mental health and substance abuse problems.

He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Meanwhile, 43-year-old Carlton Mayo of Dexter was listed in fair condition at Eastern Maine Medical Center, recovering from stab wounds to his back and neck.

The stabbing occurred around 7:30 a.m. Sunday at an apartment at 39 Water St. in Dexter. Reports filed with the court by Dexter police Officer Steven Spaulding suggested that Prevatt may have stabbed Mayo as Mayo was having a fight with his girlfriend Christine Miller.

When police arrived, they found Mayo lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. Miller told police that he accidentally had been stabbed.

According to police, Miller said she and Mayo were wrestling and that he had thrown her on the couch. She said she was holding a hunting-type knife in her hand and that Mayo fell onto it.

At the hospital, however, Mayo told police that Miller was throwing stuff at him and that he pushed her into a corner and that Prevatt “shows up and starts stabbing him,” according to a court affidavit.

Mayo reportedly took a bite out of Prevatt’s nose. Prevatt had a large gash on his nose during Monday’s court appearance.

Miller turned a bloodstained knife over to police, the records indicated.

Police later searched the apartment and seized two knives, a marijuana pipe, blood samples and a tattoo gun, according to a search warrant.

On Monday, McDonald suggested to Judge Russell that there may be issues of self-defense involved in the case.

Prevatt has a criminal history and just last week pleaded guilty to criminal trespass, criminal mischief and violation of condition of release in Piscataquis County Superior Court. His sentencing for those crimes was continued. He also has charges of robbery, theft and assault pending in Penobscot County Superior Court.

Court documents suggest that Prevatt had bail conditions on the earlier charges that ordered him to be at the home of his grandparents unless he was at work or receiving treatment.