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Man alleges he was hit by ice scraper in attack
There are probably not a lot of places in the world where a man out for a bicycle ride before work in late April would get attacked by a man armed with an ice scraper.
Madison is one such place.
An east side man was riding his bicycle in the Droster and Starker Avenue neighborhood areas at about 2 p.m. Friday when three young men in a small SUV began yelling at him. One of the men then jumped out of the SUV and, as the biker rode by, swatted him in the back of the head with a 32-inch ice scraper, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.
The victim said he "saw stars" when he was hit and asked in not-very-polite language what the assailant's problem was. "I just got out of jail. I'm trying to have fun and whoop some ass," the assailant, Kevin J. Diaz, 19, said, according to the complaint.
Along with Diaz were Jerad Lutz, 18, and Travis Simniok, 19, who eventually also got out of the car. The victim decided to return home but Lutz and Diaz started chasing him, he told police. The pair eventually gave up, yelling a death threat at him, then returning to the vehicle.
The victim said he thought the men were heading for Buckeye Road, but when he got back home he heard a loud squealing of tires and saw the vehicle was approaching with Diaz holding a car door open.
All three got out, and this time Simniok was carrying a wood bat while Diaz still had the ice scraper. Lutz, meanwhile, had his hand under his shirt near his waistband as if he had a gun, the complaint says, and threatened the victim, saying, "I'll (expletive) cap your ass."
The three left after the victim said he was calling the police, but not until they warned him they knew where he lived and would come back. The victim told police he did not know the trio.
But because the victim had a good description of the vehicle and the license plate number, police were able to locate the vehicle at Simniok's home on Ellen Avenue and arrested the three.
Diaz faces charges of disorderly conduct while armed, battery and two counts of bail jumping. Cash bail of $1,200 was set when he appeared in court. Simniok was released on a signature bond and faces one charge of disorderly conduct while armed. Lutz has not yet made a court appearance but is charged with disorderly conduct and bail jumping.
Diaz, who previously lived in Pardeeville, and Lutz both have previous convictions for disorderly conduct in both Dane and Columbia counties. Diaz also has pending cases in both counties, while Lutz is in the deferred prosecution program in Dane County on a disorderly conduct charge and could be brought back to court for sentencing on that count.
