Suspect in Scotty McCreery Colorado concert assault charged with assaulting parole officer
A man accused of assaulting a woman at a Scotty McCreery concert at the Colorado State Fair on Aug. 24 has been charged with assault on a peace officer and other crimes after he allegedly assaulted a law enforcement officer who attempted to place him under arrest.
Rodrigo Molina, 23, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct after the country singer was forced to stop his show when he reportedly saw the man hit a woman in the crowd.
Video circulating on social media showed the North Carolina-born star halt the show for more than two minutes during the intro to his award-winning song "It Matters To Her" while law enforcement intervened with help from the crowd.
“Right here, that’s a lady you just hit, sir,” McCreery, 30, said, drawing an audible gasp from the crowd. “Absolutely not, you just hit the lady. Police? Security? Is she OK? Get the heck out of here.”
“On God’s green earth. At a Scotty McCreery show? What are you doing?” the singer said on stage after pointing out the alleged assailant. “Y'all let the cop know who hit the lady. That’s absolutely unacceptable.”
McCreery called the assailant, identified later as Molina, a "coward," and waited for law enforcement to remove him from the show before he resumed playing.
The alleged assault on the woman, who has not been publicly identified, is still being investigated, according to 10th Judicial District Attorney Jeff Chostner. However, Molina allegedly assaulted a law enforcement officer who intervened, according to an arrest affidavit authored by the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office.
Molina allegedly refused to comply with a 10th Judicial District parole officer who was working as uniformed fair security at the time of the incident, and when the parole officer attempted to place him under arrest, Molina allegedly pulled away and started to wrestle the officer to the ground.
An off-duty sheriff's deputy who intervened stated that approximately three to four unknown people then jumped on the parole officer but soon realized he was law enforcement and left the area.
With the help of two off-duty deputies, the parole officer was eventually able to subdue Molina.
Molina stated that he did not know the parole officer, whom PCSO officials noted was wearing a uniform, badge, and a duty handgun at the time, was a member of law enforcement but stated that he was heavily intoxicated throughout the night, according to the affidavit.
The PCSO affidavit noted that Molina also appeared to be intoxicated, as he was slurring his words and unable to keep his balance.
The parole officer was transported to the hospital as it was initially believed he may have suffered a heart attack. It was later found that he had a bruised sternum due to his ballistic vest pressing against his chest as he struggled to place Molina in custody while Molina resisted.
Molina's next appearance in court is scheduled for Oct. 3.
The Aug. 24 incident involving Molina wasn't the only alleged assault of a law enforcement officer at this year's fair. A Pueblo West man was charged with assault on a peace officer and other crimes for allegedly assaulting three Pueblo County sheriff's deputies at a Ludacris concert at the Southwest Motors Event Center on Aug. 31.
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This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Scotty McCreery concert suspect charged with assault on peace officer
