Police: St. George man arrested for brutal beating that resulted in man’s hospitalization

2021 file photo of St. George Police, St. George, Utah, Dec. 17, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — One man is in jail facing aggravated assault after a night drinking with friends ended in a fistfight that left one man with severe head injuries, including multiple facial fractures, last Saturday morning.

2021 file photo for illustrative purposes only of St. George Regional Hospital on Sept. 3, 2021, St. George, Utah | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

Officers were dispatched to a residence on East 610 North in St. George on a disorderly incident involving two men who were in the parking lot fighting shortly after midnight.

According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, a witness reported hearing a man screaming and when they ran out to the parking lot, they found him bleeding heavily from his face and head. Police arrived to the scene shortly after.

Authorities say the man suffered severe injuries to his head and face and was transported to St. George Regional Hospital for evaluation and treatment.

According to the report, before the incident, the injured man had been drinking with two friends when an argument broke out and then escalated into a physical fight.

While speaking to the police, the reporting party said they had not witnessed the incident. Officers then spoke to other individuals living in the same apartment complex. Police say one witness said they were sitting in their bedroom and could hear “what sounded like an animal crying outside.” When they looked out the window, they saw two men fighting in the parking lot.

Officers found the suspect who matched the description provided by witnesses who was “covered in blood with no apparent injuries,” and the man’s leather boots appeared to be “saturated with blood,” the officer noted in the report.

The suspect was identified as Luis Gustavo Figueroa-Flores, a 23-year-old St. George man.

Meanwhile, in the early morning hours of Saturday, officers checked on the injured man whose face was severely swollen and disfigured. According to medical records later obtained by police, the man suffered several facial fractures, hemorrhaging, a fracture to his nose, contusions to his scalp, a closed head injury, as well as a cervical strain and a fractured tooth. The family also reported he suffered a concussion as well.

The man was unable to remember many details of the assault, the report states.

The suspect was later interviewed and reportedly said that he and the victim had been drinking together when an argument broke out over “family,” adding that he thought there was a fight but could not remember.

The suspect was later transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail on felony aggravated assault with serious bodily injury – likely to produce death, as noted in the report, as well as disorderly conduct – fight, threaten, and intoxication – danger to others.

The suspect remains in custody on $5,000 bail.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact. 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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