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VERNAL -- A Price man landed in jail after beating two other men with a rock and a propane lantern at a Uintah County campground early Sunday.
The fight broke out about 1:30 a.m. at the Steinaker State Park campground north of Vernal. Uintah County Sheriff's deputies said two men had been drinking and were causing problems. Another camper asked them to leave, but they refused.
"When confronted about their behavior, one of the intoxicated males, Robert Gomez, 28, of Price picked up a rock and threw it at a 25-year-old man from Colorado that had come to assist in getting the intoxicated men to leave," Uintah County Sheriff's Cpl. Brian Fletcher said in a statement. "The rock struck the man in the throat, causing internal injuries."
Fletcher said Gomez was also carrying a glass propane lantern and swung it at a 39-year-old Wyoming man, "striking him in the side of the head and face causing a severe laceration above the man's eye and partially severing his left ear."
The force of the blow shattered the lantern. Police said Gomez fled, but was later apprehended. Both victims were transported to Ashley Regional Medical Center for treatment.
Robert Mark Gomez was booked into the Uintah County Jail on two counts of aggravated assault and intoxication. Police said the other man with Gomez was not arrested, because he was not involved in the assaults.
E-mail: bwinslow@ksl.com
