Muncie man stabbed during pot-roast fracas

MUNCIE – City police say a Muncie man stabbed his brother with a fork during an disagreement-turned-brawl over ownership of a pot roast.

Rodney Stephen Gilliam, 49, of the 600 block of North Biltmore Avenue, was arrested late Monday after he attacked his sibling with "a three-prong salad fork," a police report said.

The 35-year-old victim was treated at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital for a puncture wound to his left forearm and head cuts, according to the affidavit.

Rodney Gilliam told authorities he was cooking a pot roast with potatoes about 11:20 p.m. when his brother, who lives in the same eastside home, began to insist that the meat belonged to him.

During an ensuing struggle, Rodney Gilliam said, his brother tackled him and he armed himself with the salad fork.

The stabbing victim went to a friend’s house, the report said, and they were en route to the hospital when their vehicle was pulled over by police. The victim was then taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Officers said they found “large amounts of blood” in the Biltmore Avenue home and on the clothing of Rodney Gilliam, who had called 911 dispatchers to report his brother was “taking advantage of him.”

Gilliam was being held in the Delaware County jail on Tuesday under a $20,000 bond, preliminarily charged with aggravated battery.

His criminal record appears to be limited to a drunken driving conviction in 2004. A charge of illegal possession of a wild animal filed against the Muncie man in 2003 was later dismissed.