(La Porte, IN) - Charges have been filed in connection with a recent bloody attack with a hammer involving an intruder in La Porte. Travis Bates, 35, has been charged in La Porte Circuit Court with Level 2 felony burglary, Level 5 felony battery with a deadly weapon, and Level 6 felony possession of methamphetamine.
According to court documents, an employee of Clear Sky Heating and Air at 418 East Lincolnway reported for work at about 7 a.m. on December 14th. Bates hit him on the head with a hammer and tried kicking him down the stairs, police said. During a struggle, the worker pulled the hammer out of Bates's hands and struck the suspect multiple times, including once possibly with the hammer.
The victim yelled for a witness to contact the police and held Bates to the floor until officers arrived. According to court documents, the victim, then bleeding from a large bump on his head, refused medical attention. Bates, also bleeding from the head, was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
The investigation shows entry into the business was made through a window. Bates told police he meant to go to a blue house nearby and meet a girl in the basement but chose the wrong structure. Instead, the business he broke into was inside a blue house about a block away.
According to court documents, Bates, after being released from the hospital, was taken to the La Porte County Jail where he was found with more than four grams of methamphetamine.
