FARMINGTON — A Massachusetts man and an Arkansas man were indicted in separate cases Thursday on assault charges.
Jesse Duval Franklin County Sheriff’s Office photo
Jesse W. Duval, 47, of Westminster, Massachusetts, was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on charges of elevated aggravated assault, reckless conduct with a firearm and aggravated assault with a weapon.
An indictment indicates there is enough evidence for a case to proceed to trial.
Duval and another man were arguing inside a home on Dec. 30, 2020, in Dallas Plantation. The men, who were related by marriage, went outside, and the victim was shot, Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. previously said.
The victim, who was not identified, was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington to be treated for wounds not considered life threatening, he said.
Duval had been indicted in April 2021 on two charges but a third charge of aggravated assault with a weapon was added Thursday.
Police recovered shell casings and a gun from the scene, Nichols previously said.
A conviction on the charges range from up to five years in prison to a maximum 30 years in prison.
In another case, John M. Murphy, 52, of Nashville, Arkansas, was indicted on charges of aggravated assault with a weapon, aggravated assault and assault.
John Murphy Franklin County Detention Center photo
A Farmington police officer responded on Oct. 3, 2021, to the Farmington Motel on Farmington Falls Road in Farmington and found a man with serious injuries to the left side of his head and his left eye appeared to be swollen shut, according to officer Ryan Rosie’s affidavit filed in a Farmington court.
Murphy is accused of striking Mark Schuttloffel, who was 55 at the time, at the motel where both were staying while working on a job.
Rosie met with Murphy, who said Schuttloffel had been antagonizing his friend and said he was going to fight him. Asked what he used to strike Schuttloffel, Murphy said his hand, according to the court document.
The motel manager’s video of the altercation on a cellphone allegedly showed Murphy had gone to Schuttloffel’s room and after a brief verbal altercation the men exchanged punches, according to the affidavit.
“The video shows John striking Mark many times in the head with what appeared to be his hand,” Rosie wrote.
Witnesses told police that they thought Murphy allegedly struck Schuttloffel with a wrench.
Murphy gave Rosie permission to search his room and vehicle which allegedly turned up a black wrench in the tool bag and was taken as evidence, according to the affidavit.
After reviewing the surveillance video on a large screen, Rosie said he observed Murphy initially punched Schutttloffel.
“I then observed Murphy grab an item from the back of his waistband and . . . I could hear the item striking” Schuttloffel, according to the affidavit.
Speaking with Schuttloffel at the hospital, Rosie said, “I observed several parallel lacerations on his head consistent with a long item. The emergency room staff added that the injuries could not have been caused by a fist strike.”
Convictions on the assault charges Murphy is charged with carry from a maximum of 364 days in prison to 10 years in prison.
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