Two Men Charged With Assault In Campfire Incident

By Andrew Gorosko

A Sandy Hook man was discharged from Danbury Hospital on Wednesday, after having been admitted as a patient on Sunday with a serious head injury, following an assault against him that occurred at an early morning outdoor birthday party held in his honor near a campfire in a wooded area off Beaver Dam Road, authorities said.

Alan Richie, 19, of Sandy Hook, the victim of the assault, was released from the hospital, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Additional information on Richie’s medical condition was not available.

Police said that Richie received a skull fracture when he was struck in the back of his head by a man wielding a long piece of wood. The party, which included some camping, was held at Cherry Grove Farm, police said.

The gathering, which was attended by approximately 20 males and females in their late teens and early 20s, took place in a wooded area that is not visible from Beaver Dam Road, said Sergeant Aaron Bahamonde, who was the supervisory sergeant in the incident investigated by Officer Steven Santucci.

Sgt Bahamonde said that the party where a campfire was burning apparently was a good-natured event, but for some reason “things got out of control” at about 4 am when two men assaulted Richie.

Police allege that Joshua Wilson, 21, of Danbury, formerly of Newtown, struck Richie in the back of the head with “a long piece of wood.” That impact resulted in Richie receiving a fractured skull, requiring his transport to the hospital by Newtown ambulance volunteers for medical treatment, the sergeant said. Botsford volunteer firefighters also went to the scene to provide medical assistance.

After Wilson allegedly struck Richie, Wilson fled the scene. Police said they located Wilson at about 3:45 pm that day at his Lake Avenue residence in Danbury, where they arrested him on a charge of first-degree assault. The charge is a Class B felony in which a conviction carries a minimum five-year prison sentence.

The charge involves the use of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument with the intent to cause serious physical injury to another person.

After arriving at the party, police said they found Carey Olsen, 22, of 36 Bennetts Bridge Road there. After investigating, police charged Olsen with third-degree assault and with second-degree reckless endangerment. Both charges are misdemeanors, with the assault charge being the more serious of the two.

Police held Wilson on $75,000 bail and held Olsen on $50,000 bail in the police station lockup for arraignments on the charges the next day in Danbury Superior Court.

At his arraignment, at which he did not enter a plea, Wilson’s bail was reduced to $50,000. He was being held on Wednesday at Bridgeport Correctional Center for an April 9 court appearance.

When he was arraigned, Olsen’s bail was reduced to $10,000. Olsen did not enter a plea. Olsen was incarcerated for at time at the Bridgeport jail, after which he posted $10,000 bail and was released for an April 9 court appearance.

Sgt Bahamonde said that both defendants are well known to local police, with both men having had scrapes with the law in the past.

A Party In The Woods

The party off Beaver Dam Road, which had been underway since the preceding daylight hours, was held in a secluded spot about 150 yards into the woods from that road, Sgt Bahamonde said.

People continued to show up at the event as it progressed, he said. Some the partygoers were camping out, he added. Police found evidence of alcohol use at the party, he said. But on arriving at the party, police did not find drunken people there, he said.

Sgt Bahamonde termed the police probe into what happened at the party “a major investigation of a serious, serious crime.” Multiple witnesses to the incident will be interviewed, he said.

The sergeant said the investigation remains in its early stages, but police are confident that they have charged those responsible for the assault against Richie.

There is the possibility of additional arrests being made in the case, the sergeant said. Also, police are investigating the circumstances of the party being held outdoors at the farm, he said.

Beaver Dam Road is a scenic dirt road which connects Brushy Hill Road to the intersection of Platts Hill Road, Hundred Acres Road, and Palestine Road.