A suspected home invasion in Butler turned into a bloody knife fight, city police said.

The alleged victim of the ill-planned marijuana rip-off suffered 14 stab wounds in the apparent attempted robbery earlier this week at a Virginia Avenue apartment.

But the two suspects — Steven Lee McCardle, 23, no known address, and Jason Lee Roberts, 28, of Butler — possibly got the worst of it.

McCardle and Roberts ended up in the hospital with stab wounds of their own, delivered in self-defense by the pair's intended target, 44-year-old Richard Lee Mackalica, investigators said.

Mackalica did not seek medical treatment for his injuries that police Capt. David Dalcamo described as “superficial to moderate.”

Police on Thursday — four days after the alleged crime — arrested McCardle and Roberts. The men were to be arraigned this morning on felony charges of robbery, conspiracy, burglary, aggravated assault and trespass.

They are being held in the Butler County Prison.

Mackalica, meanwhile, is free on his own recognizance following his arrest Tuesday on unrelated charges of selling marijuana in connection with a drug task force investigation last year.

Police began investigating the suspected robbery after getting a call about 3:35 a.m. Sunday from Butler Memorial Hospital, where both defendants had appeared with stab wounds.

McCardle, who was stabbed twice in the lower left leg, was in the emergency room, according to a police report. He initially told officers he did not know when, where or how he was stabbed.

He also admitted to drinking alcohol and taking Klonopin, a prescription drug used to treat anxiety, panic and seizure disorders, police said.

Roberts, who had been cut on his left wrist, gave officers his account of what happened. He claimed he and McCardle had been accosted by three knife-wielding men while walking on North Chestnut Street.

He, too, acknowledged having consumed several beers and Klonopin pills.

Officers believed McCardle and Roberts were “being less than truthful,” documents said, and the immediate investigation turned up nothing to suggest the two were victims.

Before long police identified Mackalica as Sunday's apparent home invasion victim.

He told investigators the defendants forced their way into his apartment early Sunday morning, held a knife to his throat and demanded marijuana and money, according to court documents.

Mackalica insisted to the intruders he had previously given up the marijuana-selling business and had no drugs for them.

The three men began fighting. At least one of the suspects, McCardle, stabbed Mackalica in the fracas.

Mackalica recounted he eventually was able to retreat to the kitchen where he grabbed two knives to defend himself. He admitted he stabbed McCardle and Roberts “in self-defense,” the police report said.

The intruders fled. Despite what happened and his injuries, Mackalica did not call police or seek medical care.

“He knew about the (drug task force) warrants and didn't want to go to jail,” Dalcamo said of the alleged victim's reason to keep quiet.

Police said along with being stabbed five times in the head, he was stabbed nine times in the chest, back and arms.

Additionally, Mackalica had black eyes, bruises and scratches, as well as a right hand injury sustained while punching the two defendants.

Roberts, in an interview at the police station, confessed to the crime and all but corroborated Mackalica's account, investigators said.

He said he and McCardle went to Mackalica's apartment “because (Roberts) thought (the victim) had weed, pills and money,” the report said.

But the plan, Roberts acknowledged, “went bad.”

McCardle also was interviewed Thursday. He admitted going to the apartment only to buy marijuana. His account of the subsequent melee seemed to portray Mackalica as the aggressor.