Greeley police are searching for a University of Northern Colorado student who is alleged to have attacked another UNC student with an aluminum bat and forced him to hand over $200 from an automated teller machine.
Wesley Paul Aron Scott, 23, faces several charges, including aggravated robbery and first-degree kidnapping, which carries a mandatory life sentence, said Thea Mustari, spokeswoman for the Weld County district attorney’s office.
Scott’s actions should warrant concern from people who know him or approach him, said Greeley police spokesman Joe Tymkowych.
“Anybody who strikes someone eight or nine times with a baseball bat could be seen as dangerous,” Tymkowych said.
Authorities say Scott was among a group of men who entered the home of 20-year-old Colin McKellar about 2 p.m. Sunday in the 2000 block of Ninth Avenue, near UNC. Scott accused McKellar of slashing the tires of his vehicle, officials said.
When McKellar denied slashing the tires, Scott began hitting him with the baseball bat time several times and demanding money for the damage he caused, Mustari said.
McKellar told police he was forced into a vehicle driven by 23-year-old Dwight Evans, a former UNC student. He was taken to the University Center on campus and told to withdraw money from the ATM.
After McKellar withdrew $200, Scott took the money and allowed him to leave, Mustari said.
McKellar did not suffer serious injuries in the attack. He also knew some of the suspects well enough to help police find them, Tymkowych said.
McKellar couldn’t be reached for comment. It’s not known whether UNC will begin disciplinary action against the students.
Evans and 22-year-old Vincent Lewis Franklin, a UNC student, are in Weld County Jail facing charges, including first-degree burglary.
Scott, a black male, is described as 6 feet 2 inches and 175 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, possibly driving a 1997 silver BMW with Colorado license plate 180-MWL.
None of the students involved in the alleged attack will be barred from campus, pending a hearing with the dean of students, UNC spokeswoman Gloria Reynolds said.
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
