Man injured in hatchet attack was in the process of being evicted, affidavit says

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — An unknown man carrying a hatchet was let into a Jefferson County home where he attacked a tenant who was in the process of being evicted by the homeowner, according to an arrest affidavit from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Bradley Lindsey, 35, was arrested at the scene and booked into the Jefferson County Jail on suspicion of attempted first-degree homicide.

On Wednesday around 8:45 p.m., Jefferson County deputies responded to a 911 call reporting a disturbance in the 3400 block of Burnham Drive. A neighbor called 911 after having an encounter with a man, who’s been identified as Lindsey, walking down the street.

Lindsey reportedly told the neighbor to “call the police if they heard gunshots” before going to a home. After hearing this, the neighbor immediately called 911, according to a release.

Deputies went to that home to contact those inside and said David Dick, who identified himself as the owner answered the door, the arrest affidavit says. He initially explained that “someone” came to the front door, knocked and came inside. 

While deputies spoke with Dick, they heard people talking in the basement, the affidavit says. Around the time the voices were heard, Dick stated the man who had entered the home had an “axe.”

Additional assistance was called and deputies descended the stairs while yelling “sheriff’s office,” the affidavit says. Initially no one responded, but more yelling was heard.

A man, later identified as Lindsey, began speaking with deputies. When asked if there were weapons in the room, he replied, “yeah, there’s a BB gun and knife,” the affidavit says. Another man, later identified as the victim also responded. He said, “And there’s an axe he used to hit me,” according to the document.

A deputy then saw Lindsey standing on the stairs with the victim near him. Lindsey, who was described as “covered in blood,” was ordered up the stairs at gunpoint, the affidavit says. He was taken into custody and evaluated on scene and shown to have scratches on his back and a healing scab on his forehead. He said, according to the affidavit, that he had been hit by a car two days earlier.

The victim reported that Lindsey had hit him the head with the axe and had strangled him. Deputies observed wounds on his head and called for paramedics to respond. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and later interviewed by investigators.

According to the affidavit, the victim reported that he went to sleep around 6 p.m. and heard a man enter the home. He said he did not personally know the man, but believed he lived nearby because he had seen him before.

He reported that the man came downstairs and began trying to talk with him but went back upstairs and spoke with the homeowner, the document says. A short time later, he said the man came back and told him the homeowner “wants you out of here now,” the affidavit says. He said the man then came toward and hit him in the head with the axe which caused him to fall onto a bed. He said he believed he was hit four or five times before the man got on top of him and began choking him, the document says.

The victim said he believed he passed out briefly and then remembered deputies arriving and recalled seeing the man toss the axe he had used to attack him. It was later found in the victim’s bedroom.

Dick, who is the homeowner, later told deputies that someone rang the doorbell and when he answered he saw a man holding a “hatchet and paperwork,” the affiidavit says. He says he allowed the man, who he did not know inside, and they spoke for about 45 minutes. He said the man planned to go downstairs and “take care of him,” which was a reference to the victim. He said there was an “ongoing dispute” between himself and the victim due to the victim not paying rent. He said he’d been trying to evict him but hadn’t done so yet, the affidavit says. 

He said the man went downstairs and the next thing he remembered was deputies arriving at his door. According to the affidavit, he reported that he did not hear a disturbance.

The victim was treated and released from the hospital. The investigation is ongoing.