Wasilla police say a mother visiting a thrift store with her young child Monday night was attacked by a local man, who punched her in the face several times before officers tracked down and arrested him.
Scott Gardner, 32, is charged with third-degree assault and providing false information in the case, according to a summary of the incident posted on the Wasilla Police Department's Facebook page.
"Investigation revealed (Gardner) attacked and assaulted a female, by punching her multiple times," police wrote. "The victim did not know Gardner."
In a criminal complaint against Gardner, WPD officer Jason Holmgren said officers responded just before 6 p.m. Monday to the Value Village at 503 W. Parks Hwy. for a report of "a male beating a female with a child in a vehicle." One officer said the suspect had been spotted behind the Mug Shot Saloon, about a block east of the Value Village.
"As I arrived at the Mug Shot Saloon, a male ran past my vehicle, and across Tommy Moe Drive, wearing red shorts and a white T-shirt," Holmgren wrote. "The male then ran into an empty lot and was tackled by a bystander and was detained and put into the back seat of my patrol vehicle."
The victim told police she saw Gardner sitting on the sidewalk outside Value Village when she arrived there. He was still there when she left, but approached her and asked to speak when she was loading her son into a car seat inside her vehicle.
"(The victim) told the male that was close enough and he then grabbed her arm and started to punch her on the left side of her face," Holmgren wrote. (She) stated the male punched her about 12 times. (She) stated she was seeing black spots in her left eye."
Holmgren said that the victim was able to positively identify Gardner as her attacker, before she visited the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Medics told her she hadn't received any facial fractures in the attack, he said, but had likely suffered a concussion.
According to Holmgren, Gardner — who gave police a false name when he was taken into custody — indicated that he understood a Miranda warning but would not discuss the incident with police.
Upon arrival at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility, Holmgren said Gardner gave his correct name, which was linked to two arrest warrants for probation violations. Gardner was held on the warrants as well as the new charges in Monday's assault, with his bail set at $10,000.