
A local man wanted in connection with a stabbing in Skowhegan on New Year’s Day was arrested Monday in his home state of Rhode Island.
Skowhegan Police Chief David Bucknam said detectives from the Newport, Rhode Island, police department arrested Christopher Monroe, 32, on Monday on an arrest warrant written by Skowhegan police.
Bucknam said Detective Michael Bachelder from the Skowhegan Police Criminal Investigation Division had been in contact with Rhode Island police. He said Monroe had been avoiding police since the morning of New Year’s Day.
He is to be processed in Rhode Island while extradition is sought by the state of Maine on a charge of elevated aggravated assault, Bucknam said.
The victim, Christopher Hongo, 29, of Norridgewock, is still recovering from the assault. He was treated for his wounds and released by Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan.
Bucknam said Skowhegan police Officer Amber Damon responded to a report of an assault on Alder Street at about 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 1. Witnesses said Hongo had been stabbed numerous times in the chest and neck area and had been taken to Redington-Fairview.
Bucknam said Hongo was going to be taken by LifeFlight helicopter to another hospital, but because of bad weather, emergency surgery was conducted at the Skowhegan hospital, where he was listed in stable condition with multiple stab wounds.
Monroe’s last known address was on Butler Court in Waterville.
He was seen last leaving the Alder Street home with a woman in a red Chrysler Town and Country van. Bucknam said the female companion does not face any charges at this time.
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