Teens facing felony charge in attack

Teens facing felony charge in attack

Dec. 8, 2001

by Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

Two juvenile brothers accused of roughing up an elderly man at Wal-Mart are not going to get to "skate" on the charges, according to District Attorney Joe Olt.

Accused of harassing and assaulting 66-year-old Leon Murdock, a retired Cortez resident and current school-board member, each of the juvenile skateboarders faces one count of Class 6 felony third-degree assault.

Usually, third-degree assault is a misdemeanor offense; however, because Murdock is over the age of 60, the crime qualifies as an "at-risk" felony, according to Deputy District Attorney Brian Rossiter.

Murdock, who is also a community host for the city of Cortez in the summer, reportedly suffered a hematoma and torn tendons in his left biceps as the result of the physical encounters instigated by the two youths while he was shopping.

Community hosts are paid by the city every summer to walk around town, answer questions from tourists, keep tabs on activities and report problems to law enforcement.

According to a police report, the two Mancos boys, 12 and 15 years old, were disgruntled over an encounter with Murdock during which he told them not to ride their skateboards on the sidewalk in downtown Cortez.

One of the boys told police that Murdock followed him and his friends around town and "bugged" them.

The Wal-Mart incident reportedly began on July 5 with the boys "accidentally" bumping into Murdock as they followed him up and down aisles in the store for approximately 15 minutes, calling him "chicken legs" and "stupid," according to the report.

Then, while they were in the meat department, one of the youths allegedly struck Murdock in the back of the shoulder. At that time Murdock put up his elbow to defend himself from what he believed was an imminent attack. However, one of the boys claims he was struck by Murdock’s elbow.

Murdock advised the boys that if they didn’t stop, he was going to report them to the police. As soon as Wal-Mart management became aware of the situation, the boys reportedly ran out of the store, according to the report.

Murdock did require medical attention and now is asking that the boys pay a penalty for their behavior.

According to the police report, both boys admitted to being involved in the attack, yet pointed fingers at one another as the primary instigator.

In a victim-impact statement, Murdock wrote that the damage done to his shoulder was non-repairable and both he and his family had suffered emotional stress in addition to the physical trauma.

"They have no respect — let alone for a senior citizen," Murdock stated, and "we need to let them know this is not funny or cute in any way what they did."

Murdock further requested restitution for his medical bills and urged the two "do time for the crime."