Police say a Moorhead man needed staples to close his head wounds after he was beaten with a police-style baton while standing at a urinal in a Moorhead bar Tuesday night.
Hector Lieonel Flores, 31, of Moorhead was charged Wednesday with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the incident.
Officers re-sponded just before midnight to a report of an assault with a pool cue at Chumley's Bar, 1608 Main Ave.
According to court documents and Lt. Tory Jacobson:
The victim, 24-year-old John Martinez of Moorhead, told police he didn't initially see Flores in the bar. He said he was standing at the urinal when he got hit in the back of the head, and he turned around to see Flores holding a black, expandable-type police baton.
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The victim told police he was struck at least once more in the bathroom and used his left arm to defend himself. He said Flores chased him through the bar and hit him again before bar staff stepped in to help him.
An employee working security at the door told police the suspect held up the weapon in a threatening manner when bar staff tried to follow him outside. Bar owner Gary Peterson said employees were able to give police a license plate and description of the vehicle Flores used to drive away on Main Avenue.
Police later arrested Flores at a woman's south Moorhead apartment.
An officer saw him "tip-toeing" out the back door and trying to climb over a balcony, court documents state. The officer identified himself, and Flores agreed to give himself up.
Martinez was taken to Fargo's MeritCare Hospital, where he was treated and released, Jacobson said. Two cuts on his head - one in the back and one in the front - each required six staples to close, court documents state.
"At this point, the victim's indicating that it's a family connection with the suspect and that he even had some forewarning that this person was potentially going to try to hurt him," Jacobson said.
Flores was being held in the Clay County Jail. Bail was set at $50,000 cash or bond.
According to court documents, Flores was convicted of fifth-degree assault in 1997 and also has prior felony convictions for fleeing police in a motor vehicle, criminal damage to property, violation of a restraining order and escape from custody.
