In a recent assault case, three men were involved in a fight at
a Morgan Hill residence last week were not arrested, but the Morgan
Hill Police Department has asked the Santa Clara County District
Attorney’s office to review the case, according to MHPD Cmdr. David
Swing.
Morgan Hill – In a recent assault case, three men were involved in a fight at a Morgan Hill residence last week were not arrested, but the Morgan Hill Police Department has asked the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office to review the case, according to MHPD Cmdr. David Swing.
The incident occurred during a small party last Tuesday at a residence on Sanchez Drive, Swing said. Officers responded at approximately 10:15pm to a call that two males were fighting at the party. When they arrived, they found one of the victims lying on the ground with a wooden picnic bench partially on top of him, and drops of blood were found on the bench, said Swing.
Paramedics were called and discovered the victim had a broken femur. He was transported to Kaiser Santa Teresa Medical Center and was still hospitalized Monday morning.
The suspect left the residence and went to his home where officers located him later, Swing said. He told officers he was hit by a frying pan, causing a cut on his head and was treated at Saint Louise Regional Hospital and released.
It is not clear what caused the fight to begin.
“The common denominator in all this is alcohol,” Swing said. “All of the people involved were intoxicated. Unfortunately, these were people who socialized together on a regular basis and decided to throw alcohol into the mix.”
The suspect and one of the victims were apparently talking in the back yard of the residence, when the suspect pushed one of the victims down and tried to hit him and the other victim intervened. The suspect grabbed the picnic bench and allegedly threw it at the other victim, breaking his leg.
It is not clear at what point during the fight the suspect received the cut on the head.
Swing said the suspect was not arrested for assault with a deadly weapon “because it was potentially mutual combat.”
“We’re taking a more cautious approach,” he said. “We’re going to wait for the DA to review the case.”
There is still another witness to be interviewed in the case, Swing added.
