Police arrest man in house-party murder

Bloomington police arrested a Warsaw, Ind., man for murder after he allegedly stabbed the lead singer of a Minneapolis-based thrash band to death at a house party early Saturday.\nOfficers arrested Brian P. White, 32, for stabbing Christopher A. Johnson, 32, of Minneapolis, after a fight occurred shortly before 5 a.m. at 1920 N. Arlington Road, according to a Bloomington Police Department news release.\nThe altercation began when the two got into a fist fight after White grabbed a woman’s buttocks at a house party at the Arlington Road residence. A short time later, White came out of the house and stabbed Johnson in the chest, the report said.\nJohnson was then transported to Bloomington Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy Saturday confirmed that he died from a stab wound to the chest, Monroe County Coroner David Toumey said. This is Bloomington’s second homicide of the year.\nAfter the stabbing, White ran from the scene on foot and stopped at a home at 1125 W. 20th St., the report said.\nJeremy Durham, 30, the resident of the house, said he returned home from a brief trip to the store and found White crouched on his back porch, peering in the screen door. White told Durham, “I need help. I need sanctuary.”\nWhen Durham slammed the inner door shut and called the police, White hid by crouching in the entrance to the basement of the house and pulled a large piece of plastic siding over the opening.\nPolice, who found what they believe is the murder weapon at the Arlington Road house, were already searching for White and arrived at Durham’s home in a matter of minutes.\nOfficers fanned out in search of the suspect, but did not find him in their initial sweep, Durham said.\nThey returned at about 6:15 a.m. with an Indiana conservation officer and a police dog. The dog soon tracked White to the basement entrance. Police took him into custody and transported him to Bloomington Hospital for treatment of the injuries he sustained in the fist fight with Johnson. When the investigating detective tried to interview him, White refused to speak about the fight and asked the detective to pray for him, the report said. White was arrested and taken to the Monroe County Jail shortly after 10 a.m.\nJohnson, the lead singer of the hardcore band Useless Wooden Toys, was in town performing at a house party at the Arlington Road residence. According to the band’s MySpace page, the act was scheduled to go on at 7 p.m. Friday. It also had a show booked at 7 p.m. Saturday at a house party in South Bend, Ind.\nA woman who answered \nthe door at 1920 N. Arlington Rd. declined to comment Saturday afternoon.\nBut Sheila Zink, 48, who lives next door, said when she returned home from work at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, it was clear her neighbors were throwing a party. She said the house, which is a rental property, is often the site of large parties.\n“Other than that, it’s usually quiet as can be,” Zink said. “We’ve never had anything like this here before.”