Bloomington, IN — A 19-year-old Bedford man has been arrested and charged in connection with a violent attack early Saturday morning behind a popular Bloomington bar that left one man hospitalized with a stab wound.
Braxton Pavey was formally charged Monday in Monroe County with one count of battery with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, following a stabbing incident that took place near 430 E. Kirkwood Avenue, just behind Upstairs Pub.
Police were called to IU Health Bloomington Hospital around 1:30 a.m. Saturday after a man checked in with a stab wound to the back. Officers learned the assault occurred just 20 minutes earlier as the victim and his friends were returning to their car after a night out.
According to the victim, three unknown men had earlier made comments toward his group around 11:30 p.m. When the group passed under a walkway behind the bar around 1 a.m., they encountered the trio again. Without warning, one man punched the victim in the face, knocking him to the ground, where he was kicked and ultimately stabbed in the back.
The victim sustained a stab wound approximately three centimeters deep, just left of his spine, as well as facial bruising and cuts to his knees.
Witnesses told police that a white male pulled a “pearl-handled” folding knife and stabbed the victim. Another suspect allegedly brandished a handgun but did not fire. Surveillance footage captured the suspects laughing and yelling before the attack and showed them fleeing afterward. One suspect was seen losing a shoe during the escape.
Investigators found a black shoe, a hat, and a debit card belonging to Braxton Pavey at the scene. Pavey was located Sunday in Bedford and brought to the Bloomington Police Department for questioning.
During the interview, Pavey first denied having a knife and falsely claimed the victim’s group had guns, but he later retracted that and admitted to using a white-handled folding knife. He also acknowledged that after revealing the stabbing to his two companions later that night, they were upset with him. He declined to identify the other two suspects, who remain at large.
Pavey was booked into Monroe County Jail and is being held on a $10,000 surety bond and $500 cash bond. His initial court hearing was scheduled for Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Monroe Circuit Court 5 before Judge Darcie Fawcett.
If convicted, Pavey faces up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine. His only prior charge in Indiana was for unlawful tobacco possession as a minor in 2023.
Police continue their search for the two remaining suspects. Anyone with information is urged to contact Bloomington Police.
