A man is in critical condition after being stabbed during an argument with an acquaintance in Uptown over the weekend, prosecutors said. Charges have been filed.
Around 9:30 Saturday night, a man called 911 to report that he stabbed someone who broke into his home on the 1300 block of West Winnemac. The intruder was bleeding and running down the street, the caller reported before hanging up.
Several people flagged down responding officers to direct them to an unconscious man who was bleeding heavily from his arm on the steps of a home in the 5000 block of North Glenwood, Assistant State’s Attorney Jocelyn Schieve said.
None of the witnesses knew how the man was injured or how he wound up on the steps.
The 45-year-old man, who received multiple stab wounds to his right arm, lost a significant amount of blood and remains sedated and intubated at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, according to Schieve and CFD transport information.
Police followed a blood trail from the man’s body to the 1200 block of West Argyle, where they discovered a large pool of blood on the rear driveway, Schieve said. At the front of the home, they encountered 26-year-old Marquez Haggard.
Haggard told the officers he used a knife to stab a guest in his home one time in the arm, according to Schieve. He later gave police his phone number, which reportedly matched the 911 caller who said an intruder had been stabbed.
Schieve said Haggard eventually admitted to lying about the break-in and admitted to knowing the victim since summertime. He also told police that the man came over to visit Saturday night, and he struggled with him after the victim tried to leave the house following an argument, Schieve said.
The victim struck Haggard during the struggle and Haggard eventually stabbed him, according to the allegations.
One of Haggard’s defense attorneys said a self-defense claim is likely to be presented on his behalf. He has no criminal background.
After weighing the state’s allegations and defense attorneys’ arguments, Judge Charles Beach set bail at $5,000 and ordered Haggard to go onto electronic monitoring if he can post a $500 deposit bond.
“I am not belittling in any way the nature of this particular offense,” Beach said as he set bail. “However, he is presumed innocent at this time…I don’t believe an excessive monetary bond is necessary or appropriate,” based on the external support network available to him.