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MONTICELLO — A Moab man is facing criminal charges accusing him of threatening his girlfriend, causing her to flee and fall 50 feet off a cliff.
Michael Kent Schofield, 44, was charged Monday in San Juan County's 7th District Court with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony; interfering with a police officer, a class B misdemeanor; and intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
Rescue crews were notified Wednesday of a woman who needed help in an area near the San Juan County and Grand County border, outside of Moab. San Juan County sheriff's deputies arrived and found Schofield with an odor of alcohol coming from his breath, "slurred speech, and bad balance," according to a police booking affidavit.
"It was later discovered (that Schofield and the victim) were in an altercation with each other," the affidavit states. "Both were on a hiking trail and Michael threatened the victim that he could push them off of one of the surrounding cliffs and took a significant motion to scare the victim. The victim ran to get away. She became disoriented, ran off of the trail. The victim then fell, injuring her leg, head, and wrist, losing consciousness multiple times. She fell approximately 50 feet."
Nearby campers heard the woman yell for help and called 911. The woman thought "she was possibly going to die, causing her to flee resulting in a serious bodily injury," according to the affidavit.
Deputies say as they attempted to take Schofield into custody, he "continuously refused to comply" with their commands.
The new charges come seven months after Schofield was found guilty of aggravated assault in Grand County for assaulting his girlfriend during an argument, charging documents state. In October, he was placed on two years of probation for that case, according to court records.
Domestic violence resources
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting:
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah's confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
- YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
- Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
