Accused Torrington Girlfriend Beater Escaped… | Cowboy State Daily

When a 26-year-old man from Torrington, Wyoming, came forward to answer allegations that he disfigured and hospitalized his girlfriend by pistol-whipping her, he was charged with two old charges, according to court documents crimes he had been evading since he was 18.

Andrew Atkinson was charged last month with aggravated assault and several other charges, alleging he beat his girlfriend so severely that she had to be intubated. Authorities searched for him for days until he turned himself in on August 20.

Atkinson's case was presented to Goshen County Felony District Court on Tuesday.

That was followed by two more local crimes: one for an alleged burglary and one for the alleged strangling of another woman, both from 2016, when Atkinson was about 18 years old.

Goshen County Sheriff Kory Fleenor told Cowboy State Daily that both cases involving 8-year-olds were under the jurisdiction of the Torrington Police Department and said he didn't know how Atkinson had evaded the law for so long.

Torrington Police Department Chief Matt Johnson did not immediately respond to a late voicemail request for comment Thursday.

Through the glass

An affidavit filed in the burglary case alleges that on May 19, 2016, Atkinson, along with another friend, threw a rock through the window of a vehicle, reached in through the broken glass, injured his arm, and stole cash and possessions worth more than Stole $5,000.

The runaway

Later that same year, on November 20, 2016, Torrington police dispatched officers to a report of a domestic assault. Responding officers found a woman with friends who was crying and had red marks and scratches on her neck, the affidavit in the case states.

She had been hanging out with Atkinson, her boyfriend, at his mother's house in Torrington. He woke her up early because he was looking through her phone and was angry; He began yelling foul words at her, the affidavit states.

As she rushed to grab her things and leave, he picked her up behind her knees and under her shoulders and dropped her on the concrete outside, the document says.

She cried on the concrete.

He returned to her, put a belt around her neck and tightened it, the woman told police at the time. The document states that when she scratched her own neck to loosen it, he tightened it.

Officers went to Atikinson's friend's house to find him, where someone saw a man climbing out the window and running through the backyard. The agents gave him numerous commands to stop, but he continued running and “was never apprehended,” the affidavit states.

Or a few hundred thousand dollars

Atkinson's attorney, Joe Bustos, wrote to Torrington District Court Judge Nathaniel Hibben on Aug. 21, requesting a lenient bond.

“Some delay” in Atkinson not surrendering sooner – presumably in his most recent case – may have been due to the attorney's difficulty obtaining information about his case, Bustos wrote in the email.

Bustos said he had difficulty getting Atkinson's documents from the court clerks and Goshen County Prosecutor Eric Boyer.

Boyer did not immediately respond to a voicemail request for comment Thursday.

Bustos argued that Atkinson is a “lifelong resident of Torrington,” has a young child and numerous family members in the area. Attorneys often point to a defendant's connection to the community as evidence that he or she is not a flight risk in order to get a lower bond.

A job is also available for Atkinson if he is allowed to leave the state for work, Bustos wrote.

“(He) demonstrated his intent to bring these cases to a proper conclusion by retaining private counsel and turning himself in to prison,” Bustos wrote.

It's not clear from the email what “low” bail Bustos had in mind, but Hibben ordered a cash bond of $221,775 in the case, the Goshen County Sheriff's Office reported.

Bustos did not immediately respond to a message left at his office Thursday afternoon.

Here recently

The latest investigation began around 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 4 when Sheriff Kory Fleenor received a call from a social worker who said Atkinson's ex-girlfriend had been the victim of a domestic incident, according to an affidavit filed with police at the time .

The woman and her child were both taken to the emergency room at Banner Health in Wheatland. But later the woman was shifted to another hospital for better care. A Cheyenne Police Department officer interviewed her along with Lt. Goshen County Sheriff Herb Irons, the document said.

The woman said she and Atkinson had been at a party at Atkinson's mother's home in Lingle the night before.

She and Atkinson left the home around 8 p.m. in a white 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross, with Atkinson driving and the woman and her child together in the back seat, the affidavit states.

They parked the vehicle shortly afterward and he reportedly began a verbal argument with the woman. Atkinson then began pulling her hair and dragging her around, the document says.

The affidavit states that a short time later, Atkinson stopped the car again in a field and began punching the woman in the face several times. He then hit her in the head with a 9mm Glock pistol until she lost consciousness.

He choked her neck with his hands for about 10 seconds, causing her to lose consciousness again, the document said.

When she regained consciousness, she reportedly picked up her child, exited the vehicle and attempted to run north toward a barn.

Escaped with child

She told police she was afraid Atkinson would kill her.

She stumbled twice while running and Atkinson caught up with her, the document said.

He took her child and walked back to the parked vehicle. The woman ran back toward him and he allowed her to hold the child again, according to the document, although the child's name was redacted.

That's when Atkinson pushed the woman and child, causing both to fall to the ground, the affidavit states.

The document states the woman went back to the car and the trio drove away with Atkinson behind the wheel.

He drove to the 7800 block of 27 Street, where he stopped the vehicle again and forced the woman to get out. He then began punching and kicking her in the face and chest as she lay on the ground, the affidavit states.

He got into the vehicle and drove off, heading south on Road 27.

The woman remained on the ground for about 20 seconds until she was sure Atkinson was gone, then she got up and ran into a cornfield to the west to get back to the highway.

The affidavit doesn't say whether the woman's child was with her the entire time, but it says Atkinson's mother intercepted them both and took them to the emergency room.

The whole body is bruised and injured

The woman suffered a puncture or collapsed lung. There were bruises and cuts all over her body, including on her feet, the document said. She also had two black eyes that were nearly swollen shut, according to court documents.

According to the document, the woman's face was covered in bruises and appeared disfigured. The affidavit states that the pistol whip left her with 15 staples and four stitches to her head.

Medical staff reportedly inserted a chest tube into the woman's lungs after she was kicked in the chest.

The child had lacerations to his forehead, which were treated and documented, the affidavit states.

In this latest case, Atkinson is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, one count of strangling a household member and the fourth count of child abuse, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Clair McFarland available at [email protected].