Man arrested for 2009 attempted murder

Florida police have arrested the man who allegedly broke into a Grand Forks home and stabbed one of the inhabitants with a steak knife in 2009.

Joseph Gladue, Jr., 21, was arrested Thursday morning in Panama City, Fla., on burglary and attempted murder charges.

He is accused of breaking into a home on the 2300 block of South 22nd Street in September 2009 and stabbing Tom Schirrick, a Minnkota Power employee, in the chest.

The attack left Schirrick, 41, in critical condition. He spent four days in Altru Hospital.

After he was released, Schirrick told the Herald, “I feel very fortunate that I’m OK, that my family’s OK” and “that I was here for my family.”

Schirrick’s wife, Lisa, and their three children were also home, but none of them was hurt.

A Minnkota spokesman said Thursday that Schirrick was not yet ready to comment on the arrest.

However, his supervisor, Phil LaVoi, said the news of the arrest was welcome.

“I’m really glad for Tom for possibly having an end to the nightmare he’s been going through the last several years,” LaVoi said.

Police said they received many tips that led them to Gladue. They also reported that Gladue acted out how he stabbed Schirrick during a taped undercover encounter.

Earlier this month, a man who admitted to being with Gladue the night of the stabbing told police that Gladue had been in the residence where the stabbing occurred.

Gladue is being held in Florida awaiting an extradition hearing.

Lisa Gulya is a reporter at

the Grand Forks Herald,

which is owned by Forum Communications Co.

Tags: news, crime, murder, arrest