A 27-year-old man was stabbed outside the westside Kroger Monday night in the 500 block of South Liberty Drive, according to Bloomington Police Department Capt. Ryan Pedigo.
Police responded to a fight at the supermarket around 11 p.m. that resulted in the stabbing. The 35-year-old suspect then fled from the area but was later arrested after being located by a K9 dog from the Monroe County Sheriff’s office.
Here are the full details released by the Bloomington Police Department Tuesday:
On October 10th at approximately 11:00 p.m., officers responded to Kroger, located at 500 S Liberty Drive, in reference to a fight where one individual had been stabbed. Upon arrival, officers located a 27 year-old man with a stab wound to his lower abdomen. The man reported to officers that he had been stabbed by a man known to him, who he identified as Curtis Martin (35, transient). The victim was transported by ambulance to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for treatment. Once at the hospital, the victim reported that he had seen Martin standing outside of Kroger upon his arrival to the store. He stated that he stayed outside with the truck while other family members shopped because he was concerned that Martin would try to steal items from the vehicle. He said that while standing near the truck, Martin approached him and removed a large knife from a bag Martin was carrying. The victim said Martin then walked towards the front of the truck and the victim believed that Martin was going to slash the front driver’s side tire, so he attempted to grab Martin’s hand. However, he said Martin then stabbed him in his abdomen as they fought over the knife. The fight between the two subjects continued for a short period of time, at which point they separated and Martin eventually walked away to the west.
The suspect had fled the scene on foot and officers from the Bloomington Police Department and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office began checking the area around Kroger in an attempt to locate the suspect. A BPD officer located a man matching the description of the suspect in the 500 block of S Curry Pike and began giving the man commands to get on the ground, but the suspect refused to cooperate and began running away from the officer. The suspect was last seen entering a fenced area belonging to Baxter Healthcare Pharmaceutical. Members of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office then deployed a drone and located the suspect in a wooded area near where he had last been seen by officers. Commands were given for the suspect to exit the wooded area, but he refused to do so. At that point, a Deputy with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office released his K9 partner into the wooded area and the K9 successfully located and apprehended the suspect.
Once in police custody, Martin was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for treatment. Upon being released from the hospital, Curtis Martin was transported to the Monroe County Jail, where he was remanded for the following charges:
- Aggravated Battery, level 3 felony
- Battery with a Deadly Weapon, level 5 felony
- Resisting Law Enforcement, A misdemeanor
Martin also had an outstanding arrest warrant for the charges of Possession of Methamphetamine (level 5 felony) and Carrying a Handgun Without a License (level 5 felony).
