AURORA | A man clinging to life after a brutal beating was attacked for panhandling and his attacker wanted him to “stay out of the neighborhood,” according to court
documents.
Ricky Thompson, 49, has been hospitalized since the Aug. 14 attack near East Quincy Avenue and South Buckley Road. Police have said he is not expected to survive.
Daniel Rice, 28, was arrested a few days after the beating and charged with second-degree assault. Aurora police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson, a spokeswoman for the police department, said Friday those charges will likely be upgraded if Thompson dies from his injuries.
According to an arrest affidavit filed against Rice, he admitted to police after his arrest that he beat Thompson, but said he didn’t mean to hurt him.
Rice told officers that he had seen Thompson before in the neighborhood around Quincy and Buckley asking kids for money or drugs.
A few days prior to the attack, Rice said Thompson asked him for money outside a Walmart on Smoky Hill Road. Rice said he told Thompson to “f**k off,” and Thompson tried to punch him but missed. Rice said the two men then went their separate ways.
On Aug. 14, Rice again saw Thompson, this time near a Chase bank on Quincy.
Rice’s room mate, who was with him that afternoon, said that when Rice saw Thompson, he said the man looked like a “crackhead” and said, “watch this, I’m gonna go teach this guy a lesson, I’m gonna knock this guy out.”
The roommate said Rice then ran across East Quincy Avenue and punched Thompson in the head, knocking him to the ground. Rice’s roommate said he didn’t see Rice hit the man while he was on the ground, but other witnesses said they saw Rice hit the man several times.
The roommate said Rice told him later that night, “see, I told you I’d do it,” and that he changed his appearance by shaving his head and goatee.
Police eventually tracked Rice to his home on South Salida Way and arrested him Aug. 20.
After his arrest, Rice told police that when Thompson was on the ground, he hit him in the chest and said, “stay away from here and stay out of the neighborhood.”
Rice is being held in the Arapahoe County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bond. His lawyer asked that the bond amount be reduced, but a judge denied the request this week because Thompson remained on life support.
Rice is due in court again Sept. 26.