A Farmington man on probation for multiple crimes was arrested May 7 after reportedly attacking a man with a skateboard.
Joseph Shimer, 31, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a third-degree felony and misdemeanor battery in connection with the attack at Brookside Park in Farmington.
Shimer, who has a lengthy criminal record, faced 11½ years in the Department of Corrections for possession of methamphetamine, larceny, possession of a stolen vehicle and non-residential burglary. However, under a plea agreement District Judge Stephen Wayne suspended the sentence Dec. 11, 2024, and ordered Shimer to serve five years of supervised probation, according to court records.
Shimer offended again March 10, when he attempted to cash a “washed check” using someone else’s identification card. Wayne sentenced him to one year and five months of supervised probation, according to court records.
The new charges stem from an incident at the pavilion in Brookside Park, where at 5 p.m. May 7, Shimer reportedly approached a woman and “tried to touch her legs.” When Karen Hungary, 50, told him to back off, Shimer allegedly “became aggressive and threw her to the ground” and “punched her,” according to the statement of probable cause.
The woman’s husband, Ronald Hungary, 45, attempted to help his wife, but “multiple people” grabbed him, and “Shimer hit him in the head with a skateboard,” according to the statement of probable cause.
An off-duty San Juan County Sheriff’s Deputy witnessed the alleged attack, as did two others, who corroborated Hungary’s statements, court records state.
Upon Shimer’s arrest, he denied the alleged attack and claimed he was “the victim of battery,” and his skateboard was stolen, according to the statement of probable cause.
Video from the Real Time Crime Center showed Shimer dropping the skateboard and another individual picking it up and driving away with it. When that car returned to the scene, Farmington Police took the skateboard as evidence, the statement of probable cause said.
A preliminary examination for Shimer is scheduled at 8:30 a.m. May 20 in Farmington Magistrate Court.