A Sangamon County man was arrested late Wednesday night after a bar fight in Athens sent two people to the hospital with stab wounds.
According to the Athens Police Department, at approximately 10:30PM Wednesday the Athens Police responded to a report of a large fight at the Longbranch Tavern located in the 100 block of North Main Street in Athens. Eye witness reports say about a dozen people were involved in the altercation. Upon arrival to the scene, officers are said to have found two men with stab wounds and two additional victims that had been battered.
After interviews, officers were able to establish a main person of interest in the incident. After the investigation, officers learned that the identified suspect, 48-year old David M. Vice of Cantrall Creek Road had fled the scene before officers had arrived. After coordination with neighboring agencies, Vice was later apprehended at his residence.
Sangamon County Deputies, Illinois State Police, Menard County Sheriff’s Deputies and the Athens Police Department arrested Vice without further incident and transported him to the Menard County Jail.
Vice is charged with seven counts of aggravated battery. After a pretrial detention hearing yesterday, Vice was ordered detained by the Menard County Circuit Court.
According to online accounts, the victims in the case suffered non-life threatening injuries in the incident and were either treated on scene or treated at Springfield-area hospitals and released.
Vice will next return to Menard County court for a pretrial hearing on Tuesday.