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Police seek man accused of stabbing

A Butler man accused of stabbing another man in the back remains at large.

District Judge Pete Shaffer today issued an arrest warrant for Allen Devon Franklin, 26, on felony and misdemeanor assault charges in the Friday morning attack in Butler.

The victim, Alexander Cash, 27, is recovering from a 1 1/4-inch deep stab wound to the lower back. Cash received five stitches and seven staples at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh to close the wound.

A woman on College Street called police about 8:35 a.m. Friday to report the stabbing after Cash went to her home. She told police that Cash is a friend of hers.

Officers found the victim standing on the sidewalk wearing a blood-soaked shirt and jeans, according to court documents. Butler Ambulance Service paramedics helped tend to the bleeding wound as police officers tried to find out what happened.

Cash said he went to the St. Paul Street home of Heather Crawford, a former girlfriend, to pick up his belongings. But when he got there, another man — later identified as Franklin — was there.

He said Franklin "jumped him,"documents said, and followed him outside with a knife. Cash said he when turned to run, the defendant stabbed him in the back.

Crawford gave investigators a different account of what happened. She said Cash allegedly broke into her house, after which he and the defendant began to fight.

Police said Crawford claimed she did not know Franklin's name, and only knew him as "P"or "Philly," documents said.

When she went to a bedroom to check on her children, she heard the two men go outside.

Investigators contacted Franklin's probation officer but were unable to immediately find the defendant.

Butler County Court records show that Franklin pleaded guilty in connection with an April 2007 drunken driving police chase in Butler.

The defendant was sentenced to 4 1/2 to 9 months in the county jail on charges of driving under the influence, fleeing or attempting to elude police and reckless driving. He was granted early parole last month and released from prison.

Franklin's criminal record also shows convictions in 2006 in separate cases for indecent assault and disorderly conduct. He also was convicted in Armstrong County in 2004 for furnishing alcohol to minors.

Cash has had at least a half dozen brushes with the law. His rap sheet includes convictions for theft, trespassing and disorderly conduct.

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