Wells man seriously injured in Sunday morning fight

A fight outside of O’Callahans Pub Saturday night left one man seriously injured and two more under arrest.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, just after midnight, police responded to a report of a fight on Main Street with an unconscious male on the sidewalk.

As officers arrived, they noticed subjects holding two suspects, 39-year-old Daniel Holcomb and 22-year-old Ian Loomis, away from 43-year-old Chip Vanderminden, of Wells, Vt. As they approached the scene, police said the crowd pointed to the two suspects, indicating that they were to blame.

An officer was able to detain Loomis right away, but Holcomb did not easily comply.

A second officer took Holcomb aside and asked him if he had any weapons; he said he had a pocket knife. The officer told him he was not under arrest, but he was detained until the incident was settled. When asked to put his hands behind his back, Holcomb resisted and began to pull away.

At this point, police put Holcomb under arrest for second-degree obstructing governmental administration and asked him to put his hands behind his back. Holcomb would not comply, so both officers took him to the ground and put handcuffs on him. He was also charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Meanwhile, Vanderminden was still on the ground with a nose that was visibly broken. He was also bleeding from the back of his head. EMS arrived on scene as did other village police, sheriffs and state police.

At the police station, both suspects were arraigned and processed; Loomis was charged with third-degree assault. Both men posted bail and were released.

Vanderminden was brought to Glens Falls Hospital. Sergeant Dave Williams said Loomis’s charges might be upgraded to felony assault because his injuries included a fractured skull and broken jaw, but a full medical report was not available.  As of Tuesday afternoon Vanderminden was in good condition at Glens Falls Hospital.

 Once more documentation is available it will probably be presented to grand jury for indictment. Police were not yet able to offer a motive for the fight because they had not finished their investigation.