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Man charged with stabbing 2 NE Indiana cops enters plea deal

NEW HAVEN, Ind. (AP) - A man charged with stabbing two northeastern Indiana police officers has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of battery and other charges under a deal with prosecutors.

Brandon Gardner also entered the plea Wednesday in Allen Superior Court to charges of residential entry and aggravated battery, WPTA-TV reported. Prosecutors would drop charges of attempted murder and resisting law enforcement under the deal.

The plea deal calls for Gardner to spend 20 years in prison if a judge approves it. Gardner is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 29.

The officers were stabbed with a pocketknife last Dec. 13 while trying to take Gardner into custody, police said at the time. Both officers were treated at a hospital and released, New Haven Police Chief Jeffrey McCracken said.

Police were called just before 9:15 a.m. after a family member told police Gardner was making vague threats to harm himself. When officers arrived, the man ran from the home and began trying to break into neighboring homes, McCracken said.

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