A 19-year-old Corning man is facing a felony charge after police say he beat another man unconscious during a confrontation near Arkansas Hall on the Arkansas State University campus, leaving the victim with four separate brain hemorrhages. Craighead County District Judge David Boling found probable cause Monday to charge Peyton Edward Cartwright with second-degree battery, a Class D felony, following the Oct. 31 altercation.
According to the affidavit as reported by K8 News, Arkansas State University police officer Braxton Morefield was on patrol at about 1 a.m. that day when he spotted a man lying on the ground with two other men nearby, close to Arkansas Hall on the A-State campus. Morefield reportedly found the man unconscious and bleeding from the mouth. A bystander told police he had witnessed Cartwright and the victim in an altercation and saw Cartwright strike the man, knocking him out, before Cartwright fled the scene on foot, according to the affidavit.
Four Brain Hemorrhages, Then a Coma
Emergency medical services took the victim to the St. Bernards emergency room, where doctors found he was suffering from four separate intracranial hemorrhages, the affidavit states. At the time of the K8 News report, the victim remained in a medically induced coma on a ventilator. A court appearance update carried by NEA Report indicated a judge stated in court that the victim had since been taken off the ventilator but was still in a coma.
Police later called Cartwright and directed him to report to the university police department. Per the affidavit, he told officers a female acquaintance had informed him the victim struck her cousin in the face, and that he left a campus party to track the man down. Cartwright said he found the victim at Arkansas Hall and confronted him about the alleged slap before the altercation turned physical, the same account indicates.
Arrest and Bond Conditions
Cartwright told officers he did not wish to answer further questions, according to the affidavit, which also notes that police observed injuries on his hands consistent with a physical altercation. Officers arrested him on suspicion of second-degree battery. He is being held on a $100,000 cash or surety bond, the K8 report states, and if released, he will be required to wear an ankle monitor and have no contact with the victim.
Second-degree battery is classified as a Class D felony under Arkansas law. Text of Arkansas House Bill 1610 describes one way the offense can be committed as purposely causing physical injury to another person that results in serious physical injury, though that bill text does not by itself establish the current status of the statute. Cartwright is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 16.
