The Gary man accused of slashing a Chicago man’s throat in the restroom of the East Chicago South Shore train station was taken into custody on Dec. 7 in Indianapolis, after he reported being stabbed himself in a dispute with an acquaintance, the NICTD Transit Police said.

Jawaun Dontell Woods, 24, was transported to Crown Point late last week and booked into the Lake County Jail on the following charges: attempted murder, attempted murder while committing a robbery, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, and carjacking.

If convicted on all counts, Woods would face a maximum term of 170 years.

Transit Police Chief Bob Byrd has suspected that Woods was in Indianapolis at least since Dec. 2, when the Honda which he is accused of stealing in East Chicago on Nov. 26 was found abandoned by Indianapolis Metro PD in the middle of an intersection at 17th Street and Broadway Street.

Video surveillance tape pulled at a nearby CVS Pharmacy and a Citgo was used to positively identify Woods.

His whereabouts were unknown, however.

Then, on Dec. 7, Woods himself called 911 to report that he’d been stabbed at an apartment on North Pennsylvania Street, according to the IMPD report.

“Mr. Woods reported an argument between himself and the suspect escalated to a physical assault,” the report states. “The victim reported that (the suspect) retrieved a knife. The victim alleged the suspect began to stab him repeatedly on various parts of his hands and face.”

Woods sustained a laceration to the forehead and near the left eye and a laceration to each hand, the report adds.

Woods was transported to a local hospital for treatment but a computer check showed him to be wanted in Lake County in connection with the attack and robbery at the East Chicago South Shore station and he was subsequently transported to the Lake County Jail.

According to Transit Police, at 5:42 p.m. Nov. 26 a 28-year-old Chicago man using a restroom in the East Chicago South Shore station was approached from behind by a man who pulled his head backward and then slashed his throat with a knife.

The victim attempted to fight his attacker, who kept yelling “Give me your keys or I will kill you,” police said. The victim subsequently did throw his keys, cell phone, and wallet to the ground and the suspect took them, then fled the station and stole the victim’s car, a silver 2005 Honda.

Woods was identified as the suspect after Transit Police determined that, 40 minutes after the incident, Woods used the victim’s stolen credit card to purchase three Lady Gaga CDs at a Lansing, Ill., Wal-Mart, police said.

“Video obtained from the store, along with telephone calls from the public, helped to identify Woods as a suspect in this case,” police said. “The victim was later able to identify Woods as his attacker from a police photo line-up.”

The Chicago man was treated at an area hospital and released.

Posted 12/17/2012