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VERNAL — All charges have been dismissed against one of three people accused of taking part in a beating last month that left a Vernal man in a coma.
Eric Lee Welsh Jr. was charged in 8th District Court with aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and theft, all first-degree felonies due to a gang enhancement filed by prosecutors. He was in court Wednesday for a bail hearing.
Instead of setting bail, Judge Clark McClellan dismissed all charges without prejudice at the request of deputy Uintah County attorney Mike Drechsel.
Drechsel's request came after Welsh, 23, provided investigators with the names of witnesses who said he was not involved in the attack on Johnny Jessie Maez, Roosevelt police detective Pete Butcher said.
Related:
Man remains in coma following Uintah County assault
A Vernal man remained in a coma at a Salt Lake City hospital after he was pistol-whipped, kicked repeatedly and had his head stomped into the pavement, according to two people who say they witnessed the beating outside a Uintah County convenience store Wednesday night."He provided us with some witnesses who gave him an alibi," Butcher said.
Maez, 32, was fueling up his car at a Maverik convenience store May 15 when Megan Murray drove up in a rented car, according to court documents. Emmett Rey Duncan Jr., another man and a teenage male — all dressed in red — got out of the car and approached Maez, witnesses later told police.
Maez, who was wearing blue, saw the three coming toward him and fled to nearby truck that was driven by his wife. He grabbed a handgun from the truck and attempted to load it, witnesses said.
One of his pursuers took the gun from Maez and began striking his head with it, the charges state.
Maez also was hit and kicked, according to the charges. Witnesses told officers that Murray got out of the car she had rented and "shouted words of encouragement to the assailants."
Related:
Police search for 3 suspects after assault left Vernal man in coma
Charges were filed Monday against three people suspected of taking part in a beating that left a Vernal man in a coma.One of the men "jumped completely off the ground and landed with both feet on (Maez's) head, smashing it into the ground," a witness told KSL. Police say the attackers took Maez's gun with them when they fled.
Maez remains hospitalized, but is no longer in intensive care, Butcher said.
Murray and Duncan, who face identical charges to those filed against Welsh, were arrested Saturday in Salt Lake County. They have since bailed out of jail.
Welsh turned himself in to Roosevelt police Saturday at the urging of family members, Butcher said.
Because the charges against Welsh were dismissed without prejudice, they can be refiled if new evidence shows he was involved in the attack, the detective said.
"Information is still coming in and the investigation is still active," Butcher said, adding that filing charges against Welsh five days after the assault was appropriate, given the information authorities had at the time.
"We stopped two cars (after the assault) and we were given evidence that corroborated that (Welsh) had been in some kind of altercation," Butcher said. "We are bound to act with the information we have."
Anyone with information about the case should call the Roosevelt Police Department at 435-722-2330.
