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Man charged with 3 felonies

FAIRMONT — A Martin County man with no current address is facing multiple felony charges in Martin County.

Michael Wayne Aufrance, 25, has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon in the second degree, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $14,000 fine. He also has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and causing substantial bodily harm in the second degree, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Aufrance also faces a charge of assault in the third degree, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the complaint:

At 12:55 a.m. Aug. 13, a sergeant with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office took a phone call from a nurse at the St. James Hospital Emergency Room. The nurse indicated there was a man there with injuries he had suffered at a bar in Trimont earlier that evening. The nurse indicated the man had a laceration to his head that would require stitches, and also had his teeth knocked out.

The sergeant later spoke to the man. He indicated he had been assaulted at the Uptown Bar in Trimont earlier that night. He believed the assailant lived in a nearby trailer house. The man described the assailant as a white male, shorter than him, and about 25 years old.

Deputies went to the trailer and attempted to locate the suspect or witnesses to the assault. A deputy knocked on the front door and a woman answered. When deputies told her why they were there and asked for her daughter or daughter’s boyfriend, she claimed neither was there and she did not know where they were. When asked for consent to search the trailer, the woman declined to give permission.

Later that day, deputies traveled to the suspect’s trailer in Trimont. While on their way, they observed the suspect vehicle, a blue Monte Carlo with an Iowa plate. A female was driving with a male passenger who fit the description of the suspect. The vehicle was followed to the trailer in Trimont. A deputy exited his squad car at the same time as the suspect male.

The man was identified as Aufrance, who stated he knew why they were there and proceeded to tell his side of the story without being questioned about the incident.

Aufrance said he had been at the bar with his girlfriend and her mom, and did not have a problem that night until he went up to the bar to get a beer. Aufrance said that when he stepped between his girlfriend’s mom and a man she was talking to, the man called him a name. Aufrance said he was offended and asked the man what he had called him.

Aufrance indicated the man again called him a name and it made him mad so he punched the guy in the mouth with his beer bottle. He indicated he hit the man one time and then quickly left because he feared the entire bar was going to jump him.

A deputy interviewed Aufrance’s girlfriend, who repeated Aufrance’s account of events. Aufrance was taken to the Martin County jail, where he was read his rights.

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