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Suspect sought after bar fight endangers 4-year-old girl

Numerous punches were thrown before the young girl was removed from the fight.
Credit: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Surveillance image of the suspect the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is looking for.

Deputies in Jefferson County are hoping the public can help identify a suspect involved in a bar fight that endangered a 4-year-old girl’s life before sending a man to the hospital.

Shortly after 10 p.m. on Jan. 25, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Crossroads Pizza & Wings Bar at 16 Mt Evans Blvd. for a fight between three men.

Before deputies arrived, two of the suspects involved had fled the scene.

Investigators later learned that Richard Brown, 39, was holding his 4-year-old daughter when the fight began.

Video surveillance of the incident shows that numerous punches were thrown before the young girl was taken from Brown. The girl's family says she didn't receive any physical injuries but is traumatized by what happened.

"She doesn't like driving by there because she's like, ' There are mean people there,'" Wendy Shoemaker, the girl's grandmother, said.

Warning: Some viewers may find this video graphic.

"There was an attempt by one of the employees to try to take the four-year-old before the fight started but he didn't let go of the girl," Mark Techmeyer, a spokesman for the sheriff's office said.

Brown was seriously injured and airlifted to the hospital for treatment. The child was not injured, the sheriff’s office said.

Brown was later issued a summons for misdemeanor child abuse.

"We have a responsibility as parents to keep our children safe," Techmeyer said. "Not only is it the right thing to do but by Colorado statute it's mandated that we do it."

One suspect, Joel Wilson, 31, was arrested and is being held at the Jefferson County Jail for suspicion of first-degree assault, second degree assault and child abuse.

"We want to know who his friend is," Techmeyer said. "He does know the other suspect. He's not being cooperative with identifying his friend. So, we don't know who the other guy is even though they're buddies and they run together, he's not telling us who the other guy is."

Joel Michael Wilson

The second suspect is described as 5’8” with a thin build. He’s believed to be in his mid-20s.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office tip line at 303-270-5612 or Metro Denver Crimestoppers at 720-913-7867.

Credit: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Surveillance image of the suspect the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is looking for.

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