A man struck another man with a baseball bat inside a Dilworth home, threatened to kill him and then used the bat to damage the man’s vehicle, according to the complaint.
Michael Vincent Gomez faces two felony charges in Clay County District Court: second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and first-degree damage to property. The charges were filed October 27.
According to the complaint, law enforcement from the Dilworth Police Department responded by phone on October 7 to a report of a possible assault that had occurred earlier that day at a residence on 3rd Avenue Northeast in Dilworth. The victim told officers he had been staying at the home for several days to help a friend move out and was waiting inside for the friend to return when Gomez, the homeowner, arrived.
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The victim reported that Gomez became angry about him being inside the house alone, tried to kick him and threatened to kill him. The victim said he attempted to leave but was cornered in the living room, where Gomez struck him twice in the left arm with a baseball bat and threatened to hit him in the head if he spoke again. Gomez then hit the victim with the bat a third time and ordered him to leave.
As the victim was leaving, Gomez struck him three more times in the backpack he was wearing, causing damage to the backpack, the complaint states. Gomez then followed the victim outside and hit the victim’s vehicle with the bat about six times, leaving dents in the hood and knocking off the driver’s side mirror.
The victim provided law enforcement with photographs of his injuries and the damage to his vehicle. He described the bat as a short metal bat with a stainless steel-like appearance. A friend of the victim told officers he was on the phone with the victim during the assault and heard Gomez begin attacking him. The friend said he yelled over the phone for Gomez to stop.
Officers contacted Gomez, who said he came home and saw someone he did not recognize in his residence. Gomez claimed the unidentified individual swung a closed fist at him first but would not answer further questions.
The next day, investigators executed a search warrant at Gomez’s residence and recovered three baseball bats and an SD card from a home security system. Security footage from the SD card showed Gomez striking the victim’s vehicle about six times. After the altercation, Gomez was heard on the footage making a phone call and stating he “beat the * brakes off” the victim, using slurs.
Investigators later met with the victim and his friend, took additional photographs of the vehicle and confirmed the damage estimate was $3,744.51. The victim identified one of the recovered bats as the one used in the assault.
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