Casper Man Accused of Biting Off Hospital Employee’s Finger
A Casper man is facing felony charges after he allegedly bit off a hospital employee's finger Sunday night.
Andrew B. Barrett is charged with a single count of aggravated assault. He made his initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
If convicted, Barrett faces up to 10 years behind bars, $10,000 in fines or both.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, police were called to Wyoming Medical Center at roughly 10 p.m. Sunday night. The affidavit states Barrett had been taken there earlier in the evening for an involuntary mental health hold.
The affidavit states that when the first officer arrived at the hospital, they saw a trail of blood leading out of a room. Immediately after, the officer was informed that Barrett just "bit the finger off" a security officer.
Hospital employees told police that staff observed Barrett attempting to eat the stuffing from the inside of a pillow. When they took the pillow away, Barrett became combative, court documents state.
The affidavit alleges that during the struggle, the hospital employee lost their grip on Barrett, who then reportedly bit the index finger of the security guard's hand. The tip of the guard's finger was bitten off at that point.
A doctor told police that the fingertip could not be reattached due to "trauma and risk of infection," court documents state.