Suspect who hit man in head with hammer on loose

By Marcia Moore
The Daily Item

August 07, 2008 07:47 am

— SHAMOKIN DAM — One man is in custody and another remains at large in connection with Tuesday night’s assault that left two men injured in a motel parking lot.
Gary Lynn Hunt, 31, of Lumberton, N.C., is being held in Snyder County Jail in lieu of $200,000 cash for allegedly stabbing Daniel G. Ramon, 25, of Fort Worth, Texas, in the stomach with a knife.
Daniel Y. Gomez, 47, of Arlington, Texas, was struck in the forehead with a hammer by a man who was still being sought by police Wednesday afternoon and may have fled the area, Shamokin Dam police Chief Robert Lockcuff said.
Responding to a report of a fight in progress at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Shamokin Dam police officer Justin Harrington came upon 25 to 30 people in the rear parking lot of the Econo Lodge, 3249 Susquehanna Trail, Shamokin Dam.
Ramon and Gomez were examined by emergency medical technicians and taken to Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, for further treatment, Shamokin Dam police said.
A group of construction workers from out of the area who are staying at the motel were embroiled in an altercation stemming from allegations that a friend of Hunt’s brother had been robbed, the criminal complaint said.
Lockcuff said the victims allegedly tried to steal a gold necklace from the neck of Garrick Scott and he escaped into a motel room.
Hunt told police he had a silver pocket knife with him when he went to his brother’s room to investigate, court records said.
According to police, Hunt confessed to stabbing Ramon.
He said he was struck in the head by a beer can and lashed out at Ramon with the knife, cutting him in the stomach.
Several other men got involved in the fight and an unidentified man struck Gomez in the forehead with a hammer, Lockcuff said.
Gomez’s attacker has not been identified, Lockcuff said.
Police found two knives and a wooden hammer allegedly used in the attacks underneath parked cars in the motel lot.
Ramon required 21 staples to close the knife wound. Both he and Gomez were treated and released.
Five men were being questioned Wednesday about the incident, Lockcuff said, adding that alcohol was involved in the incident.
Police from Sunbury, Selinsgrove and Northumberland, Point and East Buffalo townships, and state troopers at Selinsgrove, assisted Shamokin Dam police.
Hunt is scheduled to appear at an Aug. 14 preliminary hearing before District Judge Edward Mihalik on charges of aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and simple assault.
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