FARMINGTON — An Arkansas man was sentenced to 10 months in prison for assaulting a Colorado man on Oct. 3, 2021, while the two were at the Farmington Motel on Farmington Falls Road.

John M. Murphy Franklin County Detention Center photo

John M. Murphy, 53, of Nashville, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault on April 5 and was sentenced the same day in a Farmington court.

A second felony charge of aggravated assault and a misdemeanor charge of assault were dismissed in the plea agreement.

Farmington police Officer Ryan Rosie responded to the motel in 2021 and found a man with serious injuries to the left side of his head and his left eye appeared to be swollen shut, according to Rosie’s affidavit filed in a Farmington court.

Several witnesses told Rosie they thought Mark Schuttloffel, who was 55 at the time, was struck with a wrench. Schuttloffel was taken by NorthStar EMS ambulance to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington.

Both men were working at the same job in Farmington.

After reviewing the surveillance video on a large screen, Rosie said he observed Murphy initially punch Schuttloffel.

“I then observed Murphy grab an item from the back of his waistband and … I could hear the item striking” Schuttloffel, according to the affidavit.

Speaking with Schuttloffel at the hospital, Rosie said, “I observed several parallel lacerations on his head consistent with a long item. The emergency room staff added that the injuries could not have been caused by a fist strike.”

Murphy was given credit for three days he previously served.

He faced up to 10 years in prison for the conviction.