Monday night, Carmi Police received two calls about assaults that they now say are related.
At 9:37 pm, dispatch received a 911 call about two intoxicated males who had attacked Jonathan Smith in the area of 5th Street and the 5th Street market. Just minutes later, a separate call was received about a man lying partially in the roadway bleeding from the head. Officers soon discovered Toby Sanders with a large amount of blood coming from the side of his head. Sanders was reported to be breathing but unconscious.
An officer stayed with Sanders until an ambulance from Wabash County arrived. The caller who had reported Sanders in the road told officers that two males he believe to be Artice Ivy and Lief Harper had left the scene in a black vehicle at a high rate of speed.
Officers also spoke to the original victim, Jonathan Smith, who also identified Ivy and Harper as the men who had attacked him and cracked the windshield of his truck. A complaint against Ivy was signed by Smith.
Carmi Police Chief Jason Carter addressed rumors on social media in a press release Wednesday morning that Sanders had been struck by a vehicle, and stated this did not seem to be the case. Carmi Police continue to investigate the case. Sanders remains hospitalized in Evansville, IN.
If anyone has information about either incident, they should call the Carmi Police Department at 382-4633 or the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-637-3577.
