‘Love triangle’ at heart of Christmas night machete attack




Montrell Thornton

Montrell Thornton

Montrell Thornton’s head slumped downward when the judge stated that he would have to come up with $10,000 cash for bail to gain release from the Porter County Jail.

Thornton told Porter Superior Court Judge Michael Fish during a video initial court appearance hearing Thursday that he only could come up with $300. Thornton said $300 is his usual weekly take home pay from his job at the local Burger King.

It means that Thornton, 33, is likely to stay in jail until the resolution of two felony charges of aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon or if Fish reconsiders Thornton’s request for an affordable bail. Thornton is accused of using a machete to seriously wound Demetrius Robinson, 31, on Christmas night in the 200 block of Locust Street.

A “love triangle situation” is at the heart of the case, said John Holmen, a deputy prosecutor in the Porter County Prosecutor’s Office.

Thornton told police that he had grabbed a machete and struck Robinson three times in his back outside on Locust Street, court documents say. Thornton is the boyfriend of Robinson’s ex-wife. There was an argument and Thornton, along with Robinson’s ex-wife and child, fought with Robinson in the driveway, the court documents say.

Thornton, who lived at the house in the 200 block of Locust Street with Robinson’s ex-wife, said that he had experienced prior problems with Robinson, court documents say.

Robinson was bleeding profusely from his neck and could have died if Chesterton Police Cpl. Eric Lisoski, the first to arrive, had not provided first aid measures, said Police Chief Tim Richardson.

Recuperating in a Chicago hospital, Robinson is expected to survive, Holmen said.

Not guilty pleas have been entered on Thornton’s behalf.

Nathaniel Henson, an attorney with the Porter County Public Defender’s office, asked that Thornton be released on his own recognizance or be allowed to post $300 bond. Henson said that Thornton has not had any issues in the past two years.

However, Holmen noted that Thornton had been arrested on burglary, felony handgun and drug charges in Louisiana. He said it’s unclear how those charges were resolved.

The seriousness of the new charges in Chesterton is a reason why the bond should be kept at $10,000 cash, Holmen said.

Fish agreed with the prosecutor. And if Thornton should happen to post bond, the judge ordered that Thornton should have no contact with Robinson.

“Sir, I have never had contact,” Thornton replied.

Thornton’s next pre-trial appearances are scheduled for 9 a.m. on Feb. 21 and at 9 a.m. on March 21, both in Fish’s courtroom. Thornton will be appointed a public defender.

The aggravated battery offense is a Level 3 felony that carries a potential 3- to 16-year sentence. The deadly weapon charge is a Level 5 felony with a penalty of 1 to 6 years. The judge can also levy fines of up to $10,000 on each charge.

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