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Sheriff: Man hit in head by baseball bat during Ash Fork fight, couple arrested

Sheriff: Man hit in head by baseball bat during Ash Fork fight, couple arrested
Posted at 12:09 PM, Feb 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-17 15:13:02-05

A 50-year-old man remains in a medically induced coma following a fight outside of an Ash Fork bar on Friday night, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office. 

Stephen Garcia, 31, and Darlene Clapperton, 24, each face charges in connection with the crime. 

Around 6:15 p.m., deputies say they received a report that someone had been hit in the head by a baseball bat during a fight on 4th Street. 

According to deputies, Garcia had gotten into a verbal argument with a woman standing outside the Oasis Bar on Park Avenue and had threatened to assault her. 

When the woman called for help, her boyfriend and his friend came outside of the bar and approached Garcia. 

Deputies say Garcia then walked back to his nearby home and came back with a baseball bat. 

During this time, Garcia's girlfriend, Darlene Clapperton, allegedly followed and confronted the woman that he had been arguing with. 

Garcia then approached the woman's boyfriend and hit him in the head with the bat and knocked him unconscious, deputies said. 

Another man who had tried to take the bat away was reportedly bitten in the face by Garcia. 

Garcia was found by deputies hiding in a convenience store bathroom. Clapperton was arrested when she returned home, according to deputies. 

As of Saturday morning, the victim remains in a medically induced coma following extensive surgery at a Flagstaff hospital. 

While they were being held in separate patrol vehicles, deputies say both Garcia and Clapperton were uncooperative. 

Both reportedly had to have their legs restrained as they were kicking the vehicles and both allegedly spit on deputies. 

Garcia faces several charges including attempted homicide, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. 

Clapperton faces charges of assault and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. 

The cause of the original confrontation is not known at this time.