Man Found Guilty for Assaulting Victim in Moorhead, Causing Coma

Sep 21

A jury has convicted a Moorhead man for first-degree assault in connection with a violent beating that left the victim with a skull fracture and multiple brain bleeds.

According to court records, 24-year-old Mario Aaron Ortega Patino was found guilty Thursday of aiding and abetting first-degree assault causing great bodily harm.

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Ortega Patino now faces up to 20 years in prison and a $30,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 20, 2025.

The verdict follows a May 11 incident outside an apartment building on 32nd Avenue South in Moorhead, where police responded after a 911 call was abruptly disconnected and a second caller reported a man had been attacked in a parking lot.

Officers arrived to find the victim with severe head injuries, bleeding from his nose, ear and head, and unable to respond to questions. He was taken to Sanford hospital where doctors discovered a skull fracture, brain bleeds and swelling. The victim was placed in a coma and required a breathing tube. Hospital staff told investigators the damage was extensive and likely permanent.

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Witnesses described seeing a group of men in the area around the time of the attack. Detectives reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby bar that showed three men matching those descriptions. Investigators interviewed two of the men, Anthony Charles Nabors and Anthony Perales, who admitted being at the bar and in the parking lot but initially denied participating in the assault. Nabors acknowledged punching the victim once.

When investigators located Ortega Patino, he admitted he was with the others and said he had propped open the apartment building’s security door with a rock. He told police the victim kicked the rock out of the doorway. Ortega Patino said he confronted the victim and, after Nabors punched the man, he smashed the victim’s phone to the ground as the victim tried to call 911.

Ortega Patino admitted he then punched the victim in the face, causing him to collapse. He told detectives he didn’t know why he attacked the victim, blaming intoxication. Detectives noted he still had a mark on his hand consistent with the assault.

Nabors was also charged with aiding and abetting first-degree assault causing great bodily harm. His court case is still ongoing.

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