Bloomington man arrested for 2 attacks: roadway assault, domestic violence

According to a Bloomington police department news release, on Sunday night, a 28-year-old Bloomington man was arrested for two different violent attacks—one for a domestic situation on Heatherwood Lane, and another one shortly after that involving an apparent stranger who was driving northbound on Leonard Springs Road.

The location on Leonard Springs Road, in the vicinity of Sims Lane, is near Heatherwood Lane, where the domestic attack is alleged to have taken place.

According to the release, the initial report was called in by a passerby, about two men fighting in the middle of Leonard Springs Road. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a victim, a 37-year-old man from Willams, Indiana, lying in the roadway covered in blood next to his Chevy TrailBlazer, which had a broken windshield.

The victim told police he was driving north on Leonard Springs when he saw the suspect walking in the road towards him. When the victim drove around the suspect, the suspect leapt onto the hood of the victim’s SUV, denting it and smashing the windshield. The victim told police that after he yelled at the suspect, the suspect came at the victim, punched him in the face, then pinned him to the ground and continued punching him.

The victim told police that the suspect choked him and prevented him from retrieving his cell phone from the road, and continued to punch and knee him in the head and upper body. The attack continued until a passerby called 911.

According to the news release, the victim was treated for broken bones and severe swelling in his face and eyes.

According to the news release, a Monroe County deputy sheriff later found Michael Hartman (28) walking along the roadway just south of where the victim had been found. Hartman was first taken to a local hospital to be examined, then booked into the Monroe County jail on several charges, including aggravated battery, and criminal confinement, which are both level 3 felonies, according to release.

Based on Monroe County jail records, Hartman was booked into jail with a home address on Heatherwood Lane. After interviewing him, officers concluded he had been involved in a different altercation just before the one in the Leonard Springs Road, at a residence on Heatherwood, which is near Leonard Springs.

After investigating the alleged domestic assault, several other preliminary charges against Hartman were added, including domestic battery and strangulation, both of which are level 6 felonies.