Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A Tucumcari man was booked into the Quay County jail on three felony complaints after being accused of twice punching a woman, including once when she was carrying a child, and made threats with firearms and a baseball bat.
Marc Michael Hazelton, 40, was charged with child abuse (first offense; placed in a dangerous situation), two counts of aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon and two counts of battery against a household member.
The child-abuse count is a third-degree felony that can lead up to three years in prison or a $5,000 fine. The aggravated assault counts are fourth-degree felonies that can lead up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
According to the complaint filed Nov. 13 in Quay County Magistrate Court, Tucumcari Police Cpl. Abel Cullum and fellow officer Nemie Salvador went to investigate a call about a domestic disturbance at 4:40 a.m. that day in the 200 block of North Fifth Street.
The officers met with a woman who said she and Hazelton had an argument.
“Marc picked up a baseball bat that was on the floor of the kitchen and held it like he was going to hit me with it,” the woman stated in the complaint. “In fear of being hit I dropped to the floor and covered my head. I felt Marc punch me in the back with a close (sic) fist.”
The woman left the house, but returned to take two children in the house to a neighbor’s residence.
“When I walked into the house, I saw Marc sitting on the couch with an SKS rifle in his lap and a Glock 9mm pistol sticking out of his pocket,” she stated. She said Hazelton pointed the rifle at her.
She went with the children to a store and stayed in the parking lot because she was afraid to return home. She parked the vehicle around the corner from her residence and left the engine running so the children could sleep with heat. When the vehicle was about out of fuel, she drove it home and took the children inside the house.
She said Hazelton was sitting on a couch near her bedroom door as she carried one of the children to bed.
“Marc was staring at me with an evil look of pure rage,” the woman stated. “I was scared and told him not to hit me again. Marc got up and punched me in the back a second time while I was carrying (the child).”
When the victim finished putting both children to bed, Hazelton had packed up his belongings, got into his car and drove away. After that, she called police.
Less than an hour later, officers were informed Hazelton was back at the residence, and they found him and the victim arguing.
Cullum said Hazelton reached his left hand into his jacket pocket. Cullum grabbed both of his wrists and told him to keep his hands visible. The officers arrested Hazelton. The woman opened the trunk of Hazelton’s car, and officers found a loaded SKS rifle, and the Glock pistol was found in the center console.
Officers collected both weapons as evidence, along with the bat. A dispatcher ran a background check on Hazelton and found he was a convicted felon.
Magistrate Judge Timothy J. O’Quinn found probable cause in the case and ordered him held without bond. He was booked into the county jail that morning, where he remains in custody as of Monday.
No lawyer for Hazelton was listed in online court records.
