West Valley man loses ear lobe in fight with brother

West Valley man loses ear lobe in fight with brother

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WEST VALLEY CITY — A man who got into a fight with his brother, ripping off his ear lobe in the process, was arrested over the weekend for investigation of numerous charges.

Dennis Arthur Moore, 32, of West Valley City, was arrested for investigation of causing mayhem, three counts of domestic violence in front of a child, two counts of aggravated assault, criminal mischief, failing to stop for police, failing to remain at the scene of an accident, DUI and a couple of other driving-related offenses.

On Friday, police were called to a fight at Moore’s residence where he lives with his brother. When officers arrived, the victim had already been taken to the hospital.

In the emergency room, “I observed the victim to be in pretty bad shape. The victim had blood all over the left side of his face,” the officer noted in the affidavit. “I observed the victim’s left ear lobe to be completely detached, which was later located at the residence where the altercation occurred.”

The brother told police that he and Moore got into a fight because he couldn’t pay his rent and Moore told him and his two children, ages 6 and 8, to get out, the affidavit states. While the brother was sitting on bed and calling his girlfriend to pick him up, Moore “grabbed him by the shoulders using both hands. The victim stated (Moore then) punched him in the face using a closed fist.

“The victim stated he then felt a sharp pain on his ear and a cold sensation. The victim stated he then saw blood coming down his face,” the affidavit continued. “The victim’s ear lobe, with his earring still intact was located on the floor of the bedroom.”

As the brother was leaving, Moore “came out behind him punching him repeatedly on the left side of the face using a closed fist,” the affidavit states.

When officers went to Moore’s house to talk to him, they were at the door when he pulled into the driveway.

“(Moore) was given commands multiple times to remove the keys from the ignition. (He) then put the vehicle in (drive) and began revving the engine. The vehicle moved forward toward two police officers who were standing in the driveway. (Moore) then put the vehicle in reverse and put it back in drive, driving aggressively up the driveway,” the affidavit states.

Moore eventually backed out of the driveway and drove off at a high rate of speed. The vehicle was located a short time later crashed into a tree, the affidavit states. Moore got out and ran after crashing but was spotted by officers. But he still would not comply with officers’ commands, so a police K-9 was released to apprehend Moore, the affidavit states.

“(Moore) refused to cooperate with the investigation. (He) continuously made derogatory comments and was very belligerent,” according to the affidavit. “During my interview with the victim he expressed he is afraid for his and his children’s lives.”

Moore also called their mother and said he would shoot and kill the brother, the affidavit states.

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Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

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