Cheyenne High School Student Arrested In Halloween Assault

The University of Wyoming Police Department has arrested an 18-year-old high school student from Cheyenne in connection with a Halloween altercation that seriously injured a UW student.  Isaac Frederick Garcia faces a charge of Aggravated Assault and Battery after an incident injured 20-year-old Luke McConville of Casper.

According to an arrest affidavit filed in Albany County Circuit Court on Tuesday, police responded to the incident on the 1100 block of Flint Street in Laramie shortly before 1 a.m. on November 1. Witnesses told officers that McConville had been struck by an unknown assailant. McConville was unresponsive in the driveway and brought to Ivinson Memorial Hospital. He was evaluated and then air-lifted to the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland.

The UWPD, which responded to the fight as a cooperating agency with the Laramie Police Department, received several tips on the incident from the public. Court documents say that "numerous anonymous tips," including some through the test/TIP411 system, were received stating that Garcia was involved.

According to the arrest affidavit, officers with UWPD spoke with at least five people in person who said Garcia was involved in the fight, at least two of whom said they saw Garcia strike McConville. One witness told police that Garcia was not provoked when he struck McConville in the side of the head. He stated that McConville fell after the hit, striking his head on the concrete.

Police learned that Garcia is a senior at Cheyenne East High School. During the investigation, officers learned that Garcia lived with his mother but was planning to move to Denver to live with his father. Documents show that his mother had provided paperwork to withdraw Garcia from school on November 4.

According to a release from UW, McConville has continued to show improvement and has been moved out of intensive care.

Aggravated Assault and Battery is a felony punishable of not more than ten years imprisonment.