More than a quarter-century after murder conviction, Muncie man held in knife attack
MUNCIE, Ind. — More than a quarter-century after he fatally shot a woman outside a downtown pizza restaurant, a Muncie man was arrested Thursday on allegations he attacked a local woman with a knife.
Dallas White, now 46, was being held under a $20,000 bond in the Delaware County Jail, preliminarily charged with burglary and battery with a deadly weapon.
According to an affidavit, a woman — who said she had considered White to be her friend — told city police she encountered White in her apartment, on the city's northwest side on Tuesday.
The woman said White was brandishing a kitchen knife, which he used to cut her left forearm and hand. He also placed an arm around her neck and "tried to drag her into the laundry room," the court document stated.
The woman said she was able to break free and flee from White, hiding outside until police arrived, the affidavit stated. She also said she did not know how the Muncie man got into her apartment, adding he did not have permission to be there.
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An officer reported the woman's cuts were still bleeding when he arrived at the scene.
Police on Tuesday went to White's home along South Vine Street but did not find him there. He was taken into custody on Thursday.
The woman told police White had recently been released from prison after "committing the crime of homicide."
White was 18 on June 23, 1996, when he fatally shot 55-year-old Sandra Bellomy at Pizza Junction, the restaurant — then at Madison Street and Wysor Avenue — that she managed.
City police said the slaying took place during an attempted robbery.
After a Delaware Circuit Court 3 jury found him guilty of murder in April 1997, White was given a maximum 65-year sentence by then-Judge Robert Barnet Jr.
"People ought to be able to work without having to worry about people like Dallas White robbing them, killing them, leaving them in the street to die," Barnet said during the sentencing hearing.
In 2005, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled White's sentence should be reduced to 55 years, the standard penalty for a murder conviction.
Records at the Delaware County Jail indicate White has also been accused of parole violations, which could put him at risk of returning to prison.
The Delaware County prosecutor's office will determine what formal charges will be filed as a result of Tuesday's events.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie man convicted in 1996 slaying held in burglary, knife attack
