Dubuque police seek man allegedly involved in assault on bicyclist

Dubuque police are still searching for a man who they say violently attacked another man over the weekend. Police say 21-year-old Toby Hines was riding his bike in Dubuque Sunday afternoon when a car struck him. Then the driver beat him up. Assistant Dubuque Police Chief Terry Tobin says it was not a random act of violence. “There was some type of a verbal altercation between Mr. Hines and our suspect,” Tobin says. “That then led to the suspect going home (and) arming himself with a baseball bat.” Police say 39-year-old Alton Ralston of Dubuque hit Hines with his car, then got out of the car and beat Hines several times in the head with the bat. Cops found Hines in an alley. He’s being treated at University Hospitals in Iowa City for severe head injuries. Tobin, the assistant police chief, says Sunday was not the first time the two men came in contact with each other. “They were familiar with each other and knew each other from the past,” Tobin says. Friends say it all may have started over a missing C.D. player, but police won’t confirm that.