URBANA — An Urbana man is in custody in connection with an Oct. 26 theft at a Campustown gas station in which a clerk was stabbed, prompting an Illini-Alert to be issued.
University of Illinois police arrested Otha Parker Jr., 56, on Thursday on charges of aggravated battery and took him to the Champaign County jail, where he remained Thursday afternoon.
The victim called police at 3:53 a.m. that Wednesday to the Circle K at 51 E. Green St., C, and told them a man had stabbed him after he attempted to stop from taking alcohol without paying for it. The employee sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Community members familiar with the incident identified Parker as a potential suspect. Investigators interviewed Parker on Thursday, and he said he was involved.
UI police said they are continuing to provide a highly visible presence in the area after the stabbing incident and two incidents where shots were fired that also prompted Illini-Alerts.
Arrests have been made in two of those three cases. The third incident — an Oct. 29 shooting in the 600 block of South Third Street — remains under investigation.
