ST. GEORGE — A local man was arrested Sunday for aggravated assault, after he allegedly beat a woman inside her home. According to reports, once succeeding to escape, the woman was found lying in the street, while a bystander detained the suspect until police arrived.
The incident was reported on Sunday when officers were dispatch to a call involving an assault in progress shortly before 1 p.m.
While en route, officers were advised that a woman was injured and lying in the street after an assault by an unknown suspect, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.
Moments later, emergency dispatch alerted responding officers that a fist fight broke out in the middle of the street between the suspect and a bystander who was trying to detain him until help arrived, according to the report.
The first officer arrived to find the suspect lying face-down on the ground as two men were holding him against the pavement. The woman who was lying injured and unconscious nearby was transported to St. George Regional Hospital by ambulance with multiple lacerations to her head.
The suspect, later identified as 46-year-old John Daley, began fighting as the officer attempted to handcuff him, and the two wrestled as the officer held him on the ground until backup arrived.
As the officer did so, the report states, the suspect continued threatening the two bystanders that detained him while additional officers were en route, yelling loudly and telling them that he had seen their faces “and he knew where they lived and he was going to kill them,” the officer recounted in the report.
The suspect continued screaming and threatening the bystanders for several minutes; and once additional officers arrived, the man continued to be combative and was placed in a safety restraint device and transported to the hospital.
Once there, Daley allegedly kicked one of the security guards in the leg and also attempted to head-butt a medical technician, the report said. Officers were also notified by hospital staff the suspect had alcohol in his system.
At the hospital, officers spoke to the woman who was being treated for the assault, who, according to the report, told police that earlier that day, she was walking her dog and met the suspect who was also walking his dog. The two began talking about their dogs and a short time later she asked the man if he would like to continue the discussion as she headed home. The report also states that as they neared the residence, the suspect walked through the front door into the home, which made the woman uncomfortable and she asked him to leave.
According to authorities, the suspect allegedly told the woman he would leave after he used the restroom. While doing so, the woman headed toward the back door just as the suspect exited the bathroom, and again she told him to leave.
The suspect proceeded to yell and scream at the woman, when “all of a sudden” Daley grabbed a metal object from inside of the home and began hitting her in the head with it. When she fell to the ground, the suspect allegedly continued striking her in the head until she lost consciousness.
When she awoke minutes later, she reported being dragged into the bathroom as she fought with the suspect who continued to beat her about the head. When she came to for a second time she realized she was in the shower and the sliding glass doors were shut, leading her to believe “the male thought she was dead,” the officer recounting the interview wrote.
She could hear the suspect still inside of the home “breaking things,” which is when she crawled out of the shower, through the back door and she continued towards the street where she was found by a bystander.
It was the same bystander who told officers at the scene that he located the injured woman in the street, and according to the report, the woman told him she’d been attacked inside of her home by a man who was still inside of the house.
Moments later the bystander saw the suspect walking out of the home and confronted him, which led to a fist fight between the two men just minutes before the first officer arrived on scene.
Back at the hospital, the suspect provided medical staff with his name and other identifying information, and told them he was on either probation or parole. An agent from Adult Probation and Parole also responded to the hospital and spoke to the suspect about the incident. During the interview, the suspect told agents he had no recollection of hurting anyone, and said he did not know what had happened to him.
Daley was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility facing first-degree aggravated burglary, aggravated assault, threats of violence for the threats allegedly made against the bystanders who were restraining him, along with simple assault and disorderly conduct.
The woman was treated for multiple cuts and lacerations to her head.
The suspect has an extensive criminal history that includes open cases and numerous convictions and was placed on a probation hold after the incident. On the current offenses Daley is being held without bail.
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