By Shereen Siewert
An arrest warrant has been filed for a suspect accused of biting off part of a man’s ear during an early-morning fight in the town of Hamburg.
Antonio Fernandez Melgarejo, 25, of Marathon, faces felony charges filed Dec. 13 of mayhem and strangulation/suffocation and misdemeanor battery in connection with the incident. Mayhem, a class C felony, is used in cases where a suspect intentionally disables or disfigures a victim by cutting or mutilating “the tongue, eye, ear, nose, lip, limb or other bodily member,” according to state law.
In this case, investigators say Fernandez Melgarejo waited at the home of his victim, a former coworker, until the victim arrived home at about 2 a.m. Fernandez Melgarejo then allegedly pulled the victim from his vehicle, grabbed him by the neck and began strangling him. During the altercation, police say, Fernandez Melgarejo bit off a portion of the man’s ear.
The victim was transported to a Wausau hospital for treatment of injuries that included bruising to his neck, cuts and abrasions to his forehead and bite marks on his chest, according to court filings. The incident happened on Oct. 28.
Investigating officers tried on multiple occasions to contact Fernandez Melgarejo but were not successful. Ultimately, police asked the Marathon County District Attorney to issue a warrant for the suspect’s arrest.
The suspect, who does not have a booking photo on file, remains at large.
