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VERNAL — A bar bouncer who was trying to remove an intoxicated person from the business is facing a criminal charge for allegedly breaking the man's neck, according to police.
Caleb Christian Lee Pemberton, 26, of Vernal, was charged Wednesday in Utah's 8th District Court with aggravated assault causing serious injury, a second-degree felony.
According to a police booking affidavit, officers were called to a hotel bar on Monday on a report of a fight "and the victim was on the ground screaming and yelling while foaming at the mouth."
Pemberton told police that the victim was intoxicated and had been asked to leave, according to charging documents. The police affidavit further adds that the victim "became very intoxicated and attempted to fight other customers at the bar" and refused to leave.
Pemberton claimed that he and the victim pushed each other but no punches were thrown.
However, after watching surveillance video of the incident, "officers could clearly see that the defendant and the individual had thrown punches at each other," charging documents state.
The victim was punched in the face and then pushed to the ground, landing on his stomach and face, the charges state. Pemberton "then grabbed the individual by the hair and drug him to a flight of stairs, approximately 10 feet away."
While Pemberton held the man by his hair and dragged him toward the stairs, both men fell and the victim hit his neck on the stairs, the charges state. Doctors at a local hospital later confirmed the man's neck was broken, according to the charges.
"I asked the manager what their policy was for the bouncer's use of force was. She stated they were only allowed to detain and contact the police," the arresting officer wrote in the affidavit.
