Columbia Borough police are looking for a man who they say seriously injured another man Friday in a stabbing on Locust Street.

Investigators this week identified the fugitive as Theodore "T.J." Ortman III, a longtime Columbia resident with a long list of prior criminal offenses.

Ortman, 27, allegedly entered his sister's bedroom inside 430 Locust St. early Friday morning and stabbed her boyfriend, Blane Mease, in the back.

Mease, 25, managed to get away after being stabbed and summoned a neighbor to call 911.

By the time medics arrived at the Locust Street apartment, Ortman had fled the scene.

Mease, who sustained a punctured lung, was having trouble breathing, according to first-arriving officers and medics.

He was treated at the scene, then transported to Lancaster General Hospital, officials said. He was believed to have been treated over the weekend and released.

Police charged Ortman, who was still at large Tuesday, with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor reckless endangerment, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Anyone with information concerning his whereabouts is asked to contact Columbia police at 684-7735.

According to court records, Ortman has pleaded guilty to or has been convicted of criminal mischief, dealing drugs, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct (for fighting) and multiple charges of simple assault.

His last known address is 235 Locust St. Investigators describe him as a white male about 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds.

E-mail: bhambright@lnpnews.com