Crime & Safety

Eric Richard Pleads Not Guilty to Assault Charges Stemming from Downtown Bar Fight

Eric Richard pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault charges Friday morning in relation to the death of Adam McCloud after an altercation last year at a bar in downtown Stillwater.

Eric Richard pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault charges Friday morning in Washington County District Court in relation to the death of Adam McCloud.

A pretrial hearing was set for Friday, June 28 at 8:30 a.m.

Richard was initially charged with second-degree murder last year stemming from a bar fight at Smalley’s Caribbean Barbeque, but the Washington County Attorney’s Office dismissed that charge after the medical examiner could not rule McCloud's death a homicide because he fell in the hospital while being treated for his head injuries.

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After McCloud went through the intensive care unit at Regions Hospital, “he apparently rolled out of his hospital bed and landed on his head again," Washington County Attorney Pete Orput told Stillwater Patch last month. 

The complaint alleges that Richard and McCloud argued over a spilled drink, and that Richard was seen repeatedly punching McCloud in the face and head, causing him to fall and strike his head on the ground.

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When police arrived at the bar just after 2 a.m. on Sept. 29, 2012, officers found McCloud conscious and lying on the ground, but friends told police he had been knocked out.

McCloud was transported to the hospital by medics, and at that time his injuries were thought to be “inconsequential,” police told Stillwater Patch last fall. “Over the weekend, the victim took a turn for the worse.”

According to the complaint, McCloud suffered several skull fractures and intracranial bleeding causing respiratory failure and, ultimately, his death on Oct. 4, 2012.

Staff at Regions Hospital have declined comment.

“There’s a real causation issue—and I can’t begin to say how frustrated I am, but there was—so it dropped it down to a first-degree assault, because the medical examiner can’t say that Richard punched him and therefore he hit his head and died,” Orput has said.

Richard told police he was acting in self-defense after McCloud pushed him several times.

RELATED: Prosecutors Dismiss Murder Charges Stemming from Bar Fight in Downtown Stillwater

County Attorney Has Until Friday to Make Charging Decision in Smalley's Bar Fight

Family: Adam McCloud's 'Fight is Over'

UPDATED: Stillwater Man Remains Critical after Assault at Pirate Bar

As a part of the investigation, the medical examiner sent out a section of McCloud’s brain hematoma to a specialist in Tennessee, said Fred Fink, who heads the Criminal Division of the Washington County Attorney's Office. The specialist couldn’t determine whether the secondary hematoma was caused by the fall at the hospital or the incident at the bar.

Following the discovery, the charges were amended to first-degree assault.


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