Sexual Predator On The Lam After Stabbing In Valparaiso
VALPARAISO, Ind. (CBS) -- Police in Valparaiso, Ind., are asking for help finding a fugitive who is accused of stabbing and critically injuring a man who had taken him into his home on Halloween night.
As WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports, police say Robert Stevens, 43, is a sexual predator who was released from prison in 2009 after serving 16 years for a 1993 rape conviction. He is believed to be homeless.
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Michael Philipp, 46, allowed Stevens to stay at his house occasionally.
On Monday night, police say, Stevens and Philipp got into an argument, and Stevens stabbed Philipp several times in the face and neck in front of Philipp's family.
Philipp was taken to Porter Valparaiso Hospital in Valparaiso. His condition was not reported.
Following the stabbing, police say Stevens darted out a back door and was last seen running northeast.
In August of last year, Stevens was arrested in Portage, Ind., on numerous charges after police pulled him over at Old Porter Road and Ryan Court, near where he lived with his 33-year-old girlfriend and her three children.
Police said he swallowed a bag of heroin and struggled with police who struck him with a stun gun. Stevens was arrested on charges of drunken driving, possession of a controlled substance, obstruction of justice and resisting arrest. He tested positive for alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepine.
At that time, police discovered Stevens' address on the sex offender registry was listed as 5644 E. 13th Place in Gary and he failed to register his new address at 209 Ryan Court. He was charged with failing to register as a sex offender.
His state registration classifies him as a sexually violent predator.
Stevens was last seen on foot in the area of 8 Harmel Drive, which is east of Sturdy Road and north of LaPorte Avenue. Stevens was wearing a maroon shirt, blue jeans and is described as a white male, 6 feet tall and 185 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information regarding Stevens' location is asked to call 911 or text information to 847-411 and enter "Valpo" as the keyword.
The Northwest Indiana Post-Tribune contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire.
