A Linton man has been charged with a Level 3 felony of aggravated battery that posed a substantial risk of death, and three other criminal counts. He allegedly stabbed his girlfriend in the neck late last Thursday and was arrested early Friday.

Thomas C. Jaroscak, 43, Linton, was arrested by Sgt. Logan Hobbs of the Linton Police Department early Friday, January 17. Jaroscak was booked into the Greene County Jail around 12:40 a.m.

Last Thursday, January 16, Sgt. Hobbs was called in to the police department to investigate a stabbing incident. Jaroscak was the suspect who had earlier been identified by officers working the initial call. Jaroscak had been transported to the police department and was waiting in an interview room.

When Jaroscak was interviewed by Sgt. Hobbs, Jaroscak allegedly said he was with his girlfriend in his mother’s van in the parking lot at Walmart in Linton when his girlfriend put a knife to her own throat. Jaroscak said he wrestled the knife from her and in this attempt, she was stabbed in the neck accidentally.

The stabbing victim’s story was a little different. Sgt. Hobbs went to Greene County General Hospital to speak to the injured woman in the emergency room where she was being treated for a stab wound to the left side of her neck.

According to Sgt. Hobbs, the victim confirmed she was in a relationship with Jaroscak and while they were in the van in the parking lot, they were in an argument. She said he said things that hurt her feelings and she admitted she pulled a folding knife out of her pocket and held it to her own neck. She said Jaroscak took the knife from her and at that time, she didn’t have any wounds to her neck.

The victim allegedly said Jaroscak kept the knife open in his hand as they continued to argue and he then stabbed her in the neck with the knife. He then took a gray shirt from the back of the van and gave it to her to stop the bleeding. She said he then went into Walmart and got some bandages, left without paying for them and then gave them to her to put on her wound.

Sgt. Hobbs said when he returned to the police department and confronted Jaroscak with the inconsistencies in the stories, Jaroscak admitted she was uninjured when he took the knife and said he was tired of the fighting and stabbed her, but he also said it all happened so fast, that it was an accident and that he couldn’t remember it. Jaroscak allegedly admitted hitting the woman in the past but denied wanting to hurt her in this incident.

Sgt. Hobbs reported that after the initial dispatch, when officers first encountered Jaroscak and took him in to the police department, they found him in possession of a glass smoking device that field-tested positive for methamphetamine.

No additional information regarding the medical status of the victim has been released.

Jaroscak appeared in Greene Circuit Court earlier today, Wednesday, January 22.

He has been charged with:

• Aggravated battery involving an assault that posed a substantial risk of death, a Level 3 felony,

• Possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony,

• Theft, a Class A misdemeanor, and

• Possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.

His bond was set at $20,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He could be released by posting $2,000 cash but as of Wednesday evening, he had not yet posted bond and remained in jail.

There is another case pending against Jaroscak. He was arrested by LPD Officer Adam King in April of 2019 and charged with domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor, following an incident that allegedly involved a different victim who was a family member.