Two Audubon County men are in custody following a fight Saturday afternoon that left eight people injured, including two police officers. Authorities received several 911 calls at around 2 P.M. Saturday about a fight at the Littlefield Park beach area, seven miles east of Exira.
Three adult females and two adult males along with a juvenile male had been assaulted. By the time officers arrived, the assailants had left the scene in a vehicle that was taken without the owner’s consent. During their investigation, officers found 21 year old William David Hartleben of Audubon and 19 year old Kenneth Lyle Williams of Brayton hiding in a nearby campsite.
As they approached the men, Williams and Hartleben attacked the officers, and during the struggle, Williams attempted to take an officer’s gun. Both men were arrested on numerous charges. An adult male injured in the assault, identified by family members as Jericho Schmitt of Marne, suffered serious injuries and will require reconstructive facial surgery. A benefit supper for Schmitt, who is self-employed and is a volunteer firefighter with a wife and seven children, will be held Friday evening in Marne.