Assault victim rescued; alleged assailant charged

Assault victim rescued; alleged assailant charged

December 13, 2001

by Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

A local man left lying in a pool of blood Tuesday night behind Graffis Motors is lucky to have been found by officers who happened to be out looking for the victim’s assailant.

Zachary Manning, 26, of Cortez, suffered multiple fractures to the orbit of one of his eyes as a result of the beating. He was transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released later that evening.

The temperature Tuesday night dipped into the teens, and a wind of approximately 5 mph pushed the wind-chill factor even lower.

Manning was discovered at approximately 6:45 p.m. while officers were searching for Tyrone Singer, 20, of Kayenta, Ariz., who was wanted on two outstanding warrants, according to Assistant Cortez Police Chief Russ Johnson.

"The officers were looking for Tyrone Singer because there were two active warrants on him and they heard he was in Cortez," Johnson explained. "They were looking for him and they found the victim."

While attending to an incapacitated Manning, one of the officers spotted the suspect across the highway at Taco Bell, where he was contacted and arrested.

"As the officer was making the arrest he noticed there was blood all over his (Singer’s) clothes and that’s what led to his arrest," for allegedly assaulting Manning.

Details of the assault were still pending the conclusion of the investigation, Johnson said.

Initially Singer gave police a false identification but he was positively identified as the suspect they were looking for.

Singer was charged with criminal impersonation and second-degree assault in connection with Tuesday’s incident. The outstanding warrants were for failure to appear in court for other charges.

Johnson explained that Singer was charged with second-degree assault rather than third-degree assault because of the extensive bodily damage Manning sustained.

Alcohol was believed to have been a factor in the assault.

Singer was being held at the Montezuma County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond Wednesday afternoon.