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SALT LAKE CITY — A 17-year-old boy accused of brutally assaulting a man with a sledgehammer in Payson, leaving him in a coma, and then attacking toddlers at a day care next door, has been charged.
The boy, who turns 18 in November, was charged in 4th District Juvenile Court on Wednesday with attempted murder and aggravated burglary, both first-degree felonies, and 12 counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
The Deseret News is not naming the boy at this time.
On Aug. 14, Benjamin Partridge, 41, was building a fish tank in his driveway in Payson when he was attacked by the teen, who used a sledgehammer to beat Partridge, according to charging documents.
In video surveillance obtained by police from the neighborhood, the teen is seen walking up the driveway toward Partridge and “he immediately swung the sledgehammer ... striking him twice and knocking him to the ground,” the charges state. He then “raised the sledgehammer above his head” and struck Partridge 11 more times, according to the charges.
Doctors “diagnosed (Partridge) with a fractured skull, brain bleeding, fractured pelvis, lacerated spleen, lacerated liver and a collapsed lung,” according to charging documents.
“Currently (he) is in a coma and not expected to recover,” charging documents stated.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by his family, however, doctors got Partridge to open an eye on Wednesday.
“He is beginning to wake up. Slowly but surely,” the page stated.
Related:
Family asks for donations for 41-year-old man critically injured in Payson sledgehammer assault
The family of a man critically injured in a sledgehammer assault near a residential Payson day care on Friday has created a donation fund for the man’s growing medical expenses, Payson police said Tuesday.A woman who runs a day care next door to Partridge’s house saw the attack and yelled at the teen to stop, according to the charges. The boy then “jumped over the fence and started to chase her,” the charges state. He then chased the children into the home and assaulted some of them. The daycare had 13 children that day, all between the ages of 2 and 13, according to court documents.
The teen had thrown the sledgehammer over the fence, picked it up and was getting ready to swing it when he started chasing children and day care employees, the charges state. As he chased the children, he “kicked a toddler and then punched another toddler, knocking them to the ground,” according to charging documents.
He then grabbed an adult, pulled her to the ground and “punched her in the face,” the charges state. The teen then forced his way inside the day care that the adults were now trying to block, and punched another adult, according to the charges. The teen was inside the day care for about a minute before he ran off.
None of the injuries to the children were serious, according to police. After he left, an intense manhunt was launched to find the boy. A picture from surveillance video that recorded the teen was released publicly in hopes of generating leads.
