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West Chicago stabbing victim recovering, family says

A 20-year-old West Chicago man is recovering after he was repeatedly stabbed during a dispute over $40, according to a family member.

The victim suffered injuries to his face and chest in the Saturday knife attack on Allen Avenue in West Chicago, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The stabbing happened after the victim tried to sell marijuana to an acquaintance, who was riding in a van with a group of men, authorities said. After the acquaintance took the drugs and refused to pay, the victim climbed onto the side of the van and was repeatedly knifed by a front-seat passenger, authorities said.

The victim was taken to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield with slash wounds to his face and a stab wound to his chest, his grandmother said. He was expected to be released Wednesday.

“The cut just missed his heart,” his grandmother told the Daily Herald. “He was pretty lucky there.”

The victim told relatives the 10:18 p.m. attack followed a dispute over $40 owed to him. He managed to walk home afterward, his grandmother said.

Martin Favela, 31, of the 0N000 block of Pleasant Hill Road in Wheaton, has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery in a public place. He confessed after being arrested Tuesday on heroin-dealing charges, authorities said.

In court Wednesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Cathy DeLaMar identified Favela as a street gang member with prior convictions for drug paraphernalia and resisting a peace officer.

DuPage County Judge Elizabeth Sexton set bail at $300,000, meaning Favela would need $30,000 to bond out of jail. Favela, who told the judge he lives with his parents and two sons, also has been ordered to have no gang contact and no contact with the victim.

His next court date is Jan. 14 in front of Judge Robert Kleeman.

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