Hunter
07/02/20
A Hazelton Iowa man was arrested late Wednesday after an alleged assault in downtown Iowa City left a man unconscious.
Police say 21-year-old Austin Duffy was described by witnesses and seen on video walking northbound in front of Pints Bar on South Clinton Street. As he walked past the bar, he suddenly turned around and began striking two men.
People reportedly tried to pull him away from the fracas, and as they were, a third man approached Duffy from behind. Duffy is then accused of turning and striking the man in the head multiple times. The man then fell to the ground, unconscious from the head blows. He suffered from a head wound and was bleeding from his head, causing him to be rushed to the hospital.
Duffy was located by police in the downtown area after fleeing the scene. He told officers that he ran from the 500 block of Bowery Street to downtown because he got a call from his girlfriend stating that three men were yelling racial slurs at her and yelling “Trump 2020.”
Duffy admitted to the altercation, and added that even if he was sober he would’ve done the same thing. Police observed Duffy with bloodshot watery eyes and smelled strongly of ingested alcohol. A post arrest PBT showed a blood alcohol level of .08.
Duffy was taken into custody and charged with assault causing serious injury and public intoxication. If convicted on the charges, he could be sentenced to over five years in prison.