Breckenridge police charge man for biting security officer’s face
Breckenridge CO February 3 2019 Matthew Rhoads Mccarthy, 47, of Englewood, was arrested in Breckenridge this weekend on charges of second-degree assault and resisting arrest after allegedly attacking three security guards and biting one of them on the face.
At about 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 27, officers with the Breckenridge Police Department responded to a call from a shuttle bus driver requesting law enforcement help in dealing with a suspicious person at the Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge at the base of Peak 9.
On scene officers spoke with the resort’s manager, who said she received a call from one of their drivers asking for help. The driver told police that she picked up Mccarthy and his family near Ridge Street and Main Street. The driver said Mccarthy was visibly irritated and began yelling profanities at her and insisting she take them to the resort immediately, according to the arrest affidavit.
At the resort, the manager told police that she saw the family leave the shuttle bus, and said they were screaming outside in public, specifically Mccarthy, who she noted was again shouting profanities. The manager said she approached the family to see what the problem was when Mccarthy’s wife allegedly began yelling about having to wait too long for the bus.
While police were interviewing the manager in the lobby, a staff member with the resort entered and told the officers that Mccarthy was currently assaulting Beaver Run security guards in his room. Officers arrived to Mccarthy’s room to find the door closed and three security guards waiting in the hall.
The guards told police that when they knocked on Mccarthy’s door, he came to the door “clearly angry and drunk,” and allegedly grabbed one of the guards by the throat and slammed him against a wall, “nearly lifting him off the ground,” according to the affidavit. The guard said that Mccarthy released him and began choking another guard. Mccarthy then allegedly returned to the first guard and bit him in the face while pushing him back into the wall. The guard said he then pulled out a pocket knife to defend himself, to which Mccarthy backed away and said, “do it, stab me,” according to the affidavit.
The guard put away his knife, at which point Mccarthy allegedly threw him into the wall again. The guards said that Mccarthy then confronted the third guard, pushing him into the wall while spitting in his face before returning to his room. Of note, the police report recorded two slightly different accounts of the assault from different guards, with statements varying in the exact order of events in regard to when the knife was pulled and when the bite occurred in relation to each other.
Bob Barto, general manager at Beaver Run Resort, couldn’t confirm whether or not the guards have returned to work.
“They’re doing OK,” said Barto. “It was an unfortunate situation and it’s under police investigation, so I can’t comment any further.”
The Breckenridge officers knocked on Mccarthy’s door and said that he and his wife came to answer, already yelling. According to the report, the officers ordered Mccarthy to turn around and face the wall to place him under arrest, though he allegedly began resisting after officers took hold of his arms.
Officers said that Mccarthy tried to push himself off the wall with his legs and body, again screaming obscenities. He stopped resisting after an officer threatened to Taser him, and officers were able to secure handcuffs on him, according to the affidavit.
Officers said Mccarthy began resisting violently again, kicking off the wall to try to break free. The officers took Mccarthy to the ground, where he allegedly continued to kick, scream and make threats toward the officers. The officers were forced to keep Mccarthy pinned on the ground until reinforcements arrived at the resort to assist in the arrest.
Mccarthy was taken to the Summit County Detention Center, where he was booked on two charges of second-degree assault, a Class 4 felony, along with two misdemeanor counts of harassment, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Mccarthy was released from custody on a personal recognizance bond during his hearing on Monday and is scheduled to return to Summit County Court for an appearance on bond on Feb. 13.
Summit Daily
