Separate events handled by Bloomington police: Theft of vehicle with baby in backseat, stabbing at local bar

A news release issued by Bloomington police on Monday morning (May 5) reported two separate incidents late the night before, on opposite sides of the city.

The first incident, on the west side of the city, was an attempted car theft, with an infant in the backseat. The other incident, on the east side of the city, was a stabbing in a local bar.

In the first incident, the infant was found asleep and unharmed. According to the news release, around 11:15 p.m., officers responded to the Speedway at 3939 West 3rd Street, after a 23-year-old Bloomington woman reported that her 2013 Chevrolet Equinox was stolen while she was inside the store, after she left her infant son asleep on the backseat.

The news release describes how the woman was trying to get a money order processed, and the transaction was taking longer than she expected. When the woman saw from inside the store that her car was being driven out of the parking lot, she ran out of the store screaming that her vehicle had just been stolen with her infant son inside it.

According to the news release, two people who were at the gas station let the woman ride with them as they chased the speeding car. During the chase, the woman was on the phone with 911 dispatchers. The chasing car saw the Equinox pull into the Bob Evans parking lot, which is about a half mile away from the Speedway.

When the woman arrived at her car, it had been abandoned in the grass next to Bob Evans and was still in drive, according to the news release. The news release describes the woman's son like this: "The infant was still asleep in the back seat of the vehicle and was not harmed."

To identify the suspect, police investigators are trying to get surveillance footage from nearby businesses, according to the news release.

A separate incident unfolded just a few minutes later on the west side of town at The Office Lounge. The clock time given in the news release for the report of a stabbing was 11:31 p.m. The victim was taken to an unnamed local hospital for emergency surgery, according to the news release.

When police arrived at the bar, several bystanders pointed to a man seated in the front passenger seat of a maroon Ford Expedition as the stabbing suspect. Police arrested the man, 49-year-old Danny J. Mathis, from Solsberry.

Near the Ford Expedition, police found a knife that they think was used in the stabbing. According to the news release, the suspect, Mathis, told officers that he was playing pool with a few people that he did not know. During the game, the man Mathis was playing against grabbed Mathis's shoulder after Mathis made a statement to a woman who was with the victim.

According to the news release, several witnesses said that they did not see any sort of disturbance, but saw the suspect walking away from the victim, and it appeared that the suspect had just hit the victim.

According to the news release, a short while after that, the victim started complaining that he had been stabbed in the stomach. When they arrived, officers gave the victim emergency treatment care until an ambulance arrived, so that the victim could be taken to a local hospital. According to the news release, Mathis was booked into the Monroe County jail on a charge of battery with a deadly weapon, which is a Level 5 felony.