One of the suspects involved in a fight that put a Jackson man in the hospital has turned himself into police. The second suspect remains at-large.

Lincoln County Attorney Spencer Allred told SVI News that Shea Sanchez, 30, of Green River, Wyoming turned himself in Wednesday morning. He has been booked into the Lincoln County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and battery as well as theft. According to Attorney Allred, an active arrest warrant has been issued for the second suspect, identified as Jared Olquin, 35, of Elizabeth, Colorado. Olquin faces the same charges as Sanchez.

The charges stem from an altercation that took place in the Shale Creek area of Greys River on October 15. According to court documents, investigators were called by personnel at St. John’s Hospital in Jackson when a patient, identified as Jackson resident Dawson Handley, had arrived at the hospital with significant injuries, including multiple mandible fractures, after being assaulted. An investigation ensued and it was found that at approximately 8:30 a.m. on the 15, Handley and a group of hunters came upon another group that claimed to have shot a cow and bull elk in that area near the main road. Handley then told investigators that later in the day he came across the cow that was taken and that it had been field dressed. However, much of the meat was left on the carcass. Handley told investigators that he salvaged the tenderloins from the cow and kept them.

Statements from investigators say that another person in Handley’s hunting party, identified as Joseph Boster of Alpine, Wyoming, found a bull that had been shot about 1.5 hours after their conversation with the other hunters. Handley told investigators that he and Boster were at the sight of the bull kill for some time and contemplated whether to tag the elk and field dress it. After no one showed up, the group ultimately decided to tag the elk and take the meat back to their camp near Mink Creek.

Court documents say that later that evening at about 5:30 p.m. Handley and Boster were flagged down while riding a UTV in the Shale Creek area. They were approached by two men who demanded to know where the elk was. The men then started to sift through the contents of the UTV. One of them grabbed Boster’s backpack and made a statement to the effect of “If you are going to steal from us, we’re going to steal from you,” according to court documents.  Handley’s statement says that one of the men eventually hit Boster, so he got out of the ATV to come to Boster’s aid. Handley stated that is when he was punched in the jaw. He then tried to tackle the man but took a knee to the face. The assault stopped when an older man yelled towards them from the truck. The two men took the backpack and returned to their truck, driving south on Greys River Road. Boster then drove Handley to St. John’s Health where it was determined that he had bilateral fractures to his jaw and broken teeth.

Two days later, investigators with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office were able to identify the two suspects as Sanchez and Olquin after speaking with other hunters from their party who were still in the Greys River. Members of the hunting party claimed that there elk had been stolen and that Handley’s hunting party is the only group that could have known where the elk carcass’s were. They told investigators that after shooting and field dressing the cow elk, they decided to go back to camp for breakfast with the intention of returning for the bull. By the time they returned the bull had been quartered and the head was taken. One of the suspects, Jared Olquin, was still at the camp and spoke to investigators. Court documents state that Olquin told investigators that the argument over the elk became physical  after Sanchez grabbed the backpack form the rear of the UTV. Olquin stated that he believed the driver of the UTV threw the first punch after Sanchez took the backpack. It was noted by police that Olquin’s right hand was swollen with two abrasions, which Olquin stated was an injury from falling down while hunting. He also had blood on his hunting vest which he claimed was from the elk and allowed investigators to take as evidence.

The following day investigators were able to speak with Sanchez about the incident. Sanchez stated that the whole group of hunters at his camp were angered by the fact that the elk had been taken. Sanchez told investigators that the two men in the UTV acted “dumb” when they were confronted about the location of the missing elk and denied taking it. He stated that during the altercation he observed Olquin and the passenger “hockey punching” each other. According to Sanchez, he could not have caused Handley’s injuries because he had only tackled the men and had not thrown any punches. He later told investigators that he did not want to throw anybody “under the bus” but that Olquin’s hand did not get swollen from falling and that his hand “should tell us everything we needed to know,” according to court documents.

According to Boster, the backpack that was stolen contained roughly $1,000 worth of various hunting gear. The backpack was recovered from Sanchez by investigators.