UT police arrest man after fight that hospitalized 2

UT police Chief Jeff Newton addresses assault of Cody Halka near McComas Village at The University of Toledo on August 23, 2013.

Two men were hospitalized after a dispute that turned into a brawl Friday on the University of Toledo campus.

An initial stabbing, which sent one of the men to a local hospital, was reported to University of Toledo police at 2:33 a.m. UT officials late Friday declined to release the name of the person stabbed, citing an ongoing investigation.

The man accused in the stabbing, Cody Halka, whose age and address were unavailable, was also hospitalized after he was beaten by at least one person. He had not been charged as of late Friday.

Domenic Hudson, 18, of 1909 Christie St. is charged with felonious assault, failure to comply, obstructing official business, and resisting arrest for allegedly kicking and punching Mr. Halka.

Mr. Hudson was identified by UT officials as a freshman in the college of business and innovation registered for the fall semester and majoring in pre-entrepreneurship and family and small business.

He is scheduled to be arraigned in Toledo Municipal Court on Monday.

According to court documents, Mr. Halka suffered a left orbital fracture, broken nose, and cuts on his hands and feet.

The fight in a parking lot outside McComas Village appears to be the continuation of a disagreement between two groups who were at the same bar or party Thursday, said Jeff Newton, chief of campus police.

It wasn't yet known what prompted the initial fight or how the two groups came face to face on campus. The groups were made up of both students and nonstudents, the chief said.

Mr. Hudson was arrested shortly after the reported attack but not before taking police on a brief car chase.

An officer reported spotting a speeding vehicle on Stadium Drive without its headlights on. The officer attempted to stop the driver, who continued, running stop signs and red lights around campus. The driver stopped near campus in front of 2465 Douglas Rd., according to court documents.

Once stopped, officers said the suspect refused to put his hands behind his back; it took three officers to get the suspect into handcuffs, according to court documents.

On campus, officers responding to the stabbing recovered the butterfly-like folding knife allegedly used to stab the unidentified victim.

“If this kid didn't have a knife, I think this would have been a drunken fist fight that we may or may not have even been called to,” Chief Newton said.

Numerous alerts were sent to students after the attack was reported. “Dangerous situation” text message alerts were sent out, and messages were posted on the department's Facebook page. An audible alarm — consisting of a siren and message to avoid the McComas Village area — was broadcast on campus.

The alarm sounded again when the situation was under control.

“It's an isolated incident,” the chief said. “It's a good reminder that we do have incidents like this. It's not a lot, but often drugs or alcohol are involved in making these bad choices. And, once again, we see that substance abuse and weapons are not a good combination.”

Contact Taylor Dungjen at tdungjen@theblade.com, or 419-724-6054, or on Twitter @taylordungjen.