Court docs: Man charged after assaulting, hitting man with stool at Columbia Mall
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia man was charged on Wednesday after authorities say he assaulted another man with a step stool at the Columbia Mall last week.
Daval Torres, 24, was charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and third-degree assault. He was booked into the Boone County Jail at 9:09 p.m. Tuesday and is being held without bond. A court date has not been set.
According to the probable cause statement, police were called to the mall at 5:08 p.m. Wednesday, June 26 for “a reported threat.” A mall security employee told police that there was a fight in the bathroom of the café court, someone was hit with a stepstool and the victim chased Torres through the mall, court documents say.
Security footage allegedly showed Torres carrying a stepstool and hit the victim at least three times before he jumped on top of the victim and punch him multiple times, the statement says. After about 45 seconds, according to court documents, both men got up and the victim started chasing Torres into the Dillards.
A mall security employee allegedly told police that Torres worked at Pacsun and the business was able to confirm Torres’ identity, according to court documents. Torres apparently clocked out of work at 4:30 p.m. that day, court documents say.
Police talked to the victim on Monday, the statement says. He allegedly stated he arrived at the mall at 3 p.m. and shopped at multiple stores, including Pacsun. After he was done shopping, he went to the food court and walked into a bathroom, but there was already someone there, the statement says. Torres then hit him with a stepstool, which the victim referred to as a “chair,” court documents say.
The man told police he was hit in the head with the stool about five times and tried to block the hits, the statement says. He claimed the chair broke, which was when Torres threw him on the ground and then punched and choked him. The victim allegedly told police that he was starting to lose consciousness and thought he was going to die, the statement says.
The other man who was in the bathroom allegedly convinced Torres to stop attacking, the statement says. Torres got off of the man, ran away and the victim started chasing him, but couldn’t find him, the statement says.
