14-year-old girl stabbed while watching her brother’s baseball game, Indiana cops say
A man who authorities say has committed crimes in at least five states since entering the United States illegally is accused of trying to kill a 14-year-old girl, according to an Indiana sheriff.
Dimas Gabriel Yanes, of Honduras, was arrested Sept. 1 following an “intense manhunt,” the Lake County Sheriff’s Department said. The 26-year-old is charged with attempted murder, among other charges.
His arrest stems from an Aug. 31 incident at the VFW baseball field in Lowell. Sheriff’s officials say a 14-year-old girl was watching her brother’s baseball game when she was stabbed in the hand by an unknown man, later determined to be Yanes.
The girl’s mother intervened, and Yanes attempted to stab her as well, according to the sheriff, who called it “a random attack.”
“He just jumped on her and pushed her over,” one of the baseball coaches, Matthew Ramian, told WLS. “Then proceeded to pull out what I called like a bowie knife, a big 16-, 18-inch knife and just started swinging it on her.”
A “butcher-style knife” was recovered, but as authorities began searching for the accused assailant, sheriff deputies still referred to him as “armed and dangerous.”
A deputy apprehended Yanes on Sept. 1 as he was running through a cornfield, the sheriff said. Yanes was said to be in the process of changing his appearance by cutting his hair.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said Yanes is in the United States illegally after being deported in 2018. Since then, he is accused of crimes in New York, Illinois, Georgia, Ohio and now Indiana.
“His criminal history includes battery, trespassing, intoxication, attempted burglary and now attempted murder,” the sheriff said. “During the weekend search for Yanes, we received intelligence that he had been classified as a risk to law enforcement officer safety and to national security due to documented ties to (the) international gang MS-13.”
Yanes was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, battery resulting in serious bodily injury to a person under 14, battery by means of a deadly weapon and intimidation.
Authorities said the girl was treated and released from a hospital. Martinez referred to the violence as “unspeakable.”
Lowell is about a 60-mile drive southeast from Chicago.
This story was originally published September 4, 2024 at 8:05 AM with the headline "14-year-old girl stabbed while watching her brother’s baseball game, Indiana cops say."