Hays man arrested for assaulting another with a TV

An argument that was allegedly triggered over a Christmas present turned into a physical altercation that resulted in one of the men getting hit in the head with a TV.

Jaret J. Blackcrow, 23, of Hays is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and partner or family member assault.

According to a charging document, Havre police officers arrived at a residence Dec. 18 after the caller reported that her son and husband were fighting

The officers entered the home and separated Blackcrow and another man. The men were reportedly very close to one another. The other man had an injury to the left side of his face. Blackcrow was handcuffed and escorted out of the residence, then questioned.

The officer noticed that Blackcrow had an “overwhelming odor of alcohol emanating” from him, was slurring his speech, had difficulty maintaining his balance and had blood on his shirt that “did not appear to belong” to him, the file says. Blackcrow told the officer that he and the other man were arguing about a Christmas present.

The officer went into the residence to speak to the other man.

The report says the officer had difficulty understanding the other man as well, “due to his high level of intoxication.” The officer was able to make out the man's story as thus: the two men were sitting at the table, they started arguing and Blackcrow came around the table and began punching him.

Another officer spoke to the woman who called the police. The woman told the officer that Blackcrow punched, head-butted and “pushed the TV down onto” the other man's head, her stepson, the document says. The officer noticed that the TV shelf was broken and it looked as if someone had pushed the TV at an angle toward the bed.

Blackcrow is in the Hill County Detention Center on $10,000 bond. He is scheduled to plead guilty or not guilty today in District Court at 3 p.m.