A Waveland teen was arraigned on felony battery charges Monday in Montgomery Circuit Court for his alleged role in the stabbing and beating of a 24-year-old man last week.
Christian M. Hill, 19, has been formally charged with battery by means of a deadly weapon and battery resulting in bodily injury, according to court records. He remains held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $3,000 cash bond.
Hill appeared by video in court for his initial hearing, where he asked for a public defender to represent him. Judge Harry Siamas entered preliminary not-guilty pleas on his behalf.
If convicted, Hill could face up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each count. A no-contact order has been issued between Hill and the victim, who was identified in court records as Carl A. Martin.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to Franciscan Health Crawfordsville’s emergency room Wednesday, where Martin was being treated for a stab wound to the neck, according to a probable cause affidavit signed by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Officer Mike Taylor.
Martin told police he had been a car with Hill and a 17-year-old girl when he said he was attacked near a gravel lot next to a creek, apparently close to Deer’s Mill Bridge.
He said the girl stabbed him in the neck with a folding knife as he checked under the hood for a mechanical problem. Hill then struck him with the tire iron, he said.
Martin told police believed the pair was going to leave him behind until they offered him a ride home. Once there, a friend drove him to the hospital, he said.
Martin was later transferred to an Indianapolis hospital for further treatment, authorities said. Police say the injury was not believed to be life-threatening.
Police arrested Hill later that day. He is awaiting trial on drug and possession of an altered handgun charges, and was wanted for failing to appear in court on a misdemeanor theft charge, according to court records.
Hill was also arraigned Monday on the theft charge and a separate misdemeanor theft case. No bond was set on those charges.
The 17-year-old, whom the Journal Review is not naming because she is a juvenile, was arrested on preliminary felony charge of battery with a deadly weapon. She was being held at a Johnson County juvenile detention center.
