BEDFORD – A Mitchell man was arrested on a warrant charging him with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and battery resulting in bodily injury.
Police arrested 37-year-old Andrew Rankin during a drug investigation on Monday.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on November 9, 2020, Bedford Police officers were requested to IU Health Hospital emergency room to speak to a woman who was being treated for stab wounds.
The woman told police she was staying at a home on Avoca Eureka Road because she had been ill and that a friend Andrew Rankin had asked to come to the house because he needed a ride to another location.
The woman told police Rankin arrived at the home around 4:20 p.m. on November 8, 2020. She said she spent most of the day sleeping because she was ill.
When she woke at 2:30 a.m. on November 9, 2020 she discovered Rankin was gone and so was her vehicle.
She stated she called Rankin and at first, he would not tell her where he was. He then told her that he was at Dairyland on Lincoln Avenue and 5th Street. The woman got a ride to attempt to locate Rankin and her vehicle.
She found him walking in the 1500 block of 1st Street where she confronted Rankin about her vehicle.
Rankin told the woman a friend of his was going to bring the car back to her. Rankin then got upset when the woman told him to just get in the car and take her to where her vehicle was.
According to the woman, Rankin had his back to her and suddenly spun around and hit the woman in the chest. She took off running. The woman thought Rankin had just punched her but then felt the blood running down her side and screamed for help.
The person who had driven her to town took her to the hospital.
Officers were unable to locate Rankin.
The information was forwarded to the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
