Police said two people have been arrested on felony charges because they beat and seriously injured a man in downtown Bloomington, knocking out some of his teeth.
Avery Williams, 25, and Khalil Morris, 21, were taken to Monroe County Jail Monday on a charge of battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony.
Capt. Ryan Pedigo, public information officer for Bloomington Police Department, said Tuesday that the investigation is continuing and that police may be making more arrests.
Police initially responded to the 400 block of East Kirkwood Avenue at 11:35 p.m. on Sept. 26, but the victim, Robert Ballard, initially refused to cooperate with police.
Pedigo said Ballard changed his mind and, in the early afternoon of Sept. 29, he told police that he was sitting on a concrete wall in the 400 block of East Kirkwood and believed that someone had stolen his cell phone.
Pedigo said Ballard began yelling at one of the men because of the alleged theft.
“It escalated from a verbal altercation to a physical altercation,” the PIO said.
“I think that he (Ballard) got punched first,” Pedigo said. “I’m not blaming him. He got battered badly.”
The PIO said he believes the fight involved at least six people.
He said police interviewed eye witnesses, reviewed cell phone videos and, at about 1:15 a.m. on Sept. 27 responded to a nearby fast food restaurant because a tipster had told authorities that two of the people involved in the fight were at the restaurant. Pedigo said officers spoke with two men, but did not arrest or detain them, because Ballard, at the time, was not yet cooperating with police.
Pedigo said evidence suggests the fight appears to have been isolated — and not an incident where someone was targeted because they are homeless.
As of mid-afternoon Tuesday, Williams and Morris were being held without bond at Monroe County Jail, pending an initial court appearance.
Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Police arrest 2 on suspicion they beat man in downtown Bloomington, knocking out some teeth
Reporting by Boris Ladwig, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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