A Dolores man has been charged with felony assault for allegedly punching a man with a mental disability in the face while imprisoning him in a Cortez trailer.
Erik L. Genaw, 30, faces charges of third-degree assault against an at-risk adult, a Class 6 felony; third-degree assault causing bodily injury; menacing; and false imprisonment. In Colorado, an at-risk adult is defined as an adult with a disability. Penalties are higher for crimes committed against at-risk individuals.
According to a Cortez Police Department incident report, the victim’s mother said her son has schizophrenia. He has a case worker with Adult Protective Services and a counselor with Axis Mental Health.
About 8 p.m. on Jan. 5, the victim reported that he was assaulted. Officers found him sitting outside of the Handy Mart on South Broadway, which is across the street from Orchard Trailer Court, where the assault is said to have occurred. Court documents state the offense occurred Dec. 23.
According to the police report, the victim told officers that Genaw had prohibited him from leaving the trailer, prohibited him from drinking water, forced him to sit in a chair and repeatedly punched him in the face while forcing him to keep his hands behind his back.
An officer reported that the victim had a black eye and several bruises on his face.
The victim asked the officer if he could call his mother because Genaw had stolen his cellphone, according to the police report.
Genaw was arrested the next morning when dispatch received a report of a disturbance at Orchard Trailer Court. They found Genaw sitting in a chair and crying in the trailer, according to a police report.
He told officers that the victim was actually the aggressor and he was just trying to defend himself. He said the victim told him he had raped his girlfriend, according to the police report.
Genaw has appeared in Montezuma County Court several times since Jan. 5. A mandatory temporary protection order was issued on Jan. 7, restraining Genaw from the victim. On Wednesday, Judge JenniLynn Lawrence informed Genaw of the charges filed by the District Attorney’s Office and told him that he is scheduled to attend a permanent civil restraining order on Friday morning.
She advised Genaw to consider his statements very carefully during the hearing on Friday and added that he is facing some “pretty serious charges.”
But at 10 a.m. on Friday, the courtroom was empty save for Lawrence, a court clerk and a court security deputy.
Neither the victim nor Genaw appeared. Lawrence vacated the temporary restraining order.
Genaw is now scheduled to apply for a public defender on Jan. 23.
sdolan@the-journal.com
