VIOLA TOWNSHIP — The Olmsted County Sheriff's Office has a 26-year-old man in custody who assaulted another man during a child custody exchange Wednesday afternoon.
The man, Matthew Bettridge, is an acquaintance of the child's mother and was with her during the custody exchange around 3:38 p.m., according to Olmsted County Sheriff's Capt. Scott Behrns. Things quickly turned violent, and Bettridge allegedly began threatening, and then punching, the child's 33-year-old father — all while the 3-year-old child was just 10 feet away, Behrns said.
Bettridge and the child's mother then fled from the scene, according to Behrns, leaving the victim with contusions, abrasions, a laceration on his face and a chipped tooth.
Deputies were unable to locate Bettridge Wednesday following the incident, but he turned up Thursday around 3:34 p.m. after a search at the home of the child's mother in northwest Stewartville, where he was hiding under the kitchen sink, Berhns said.
Bettridge is charged with one count each of third-degree assault, a felony, and terroristic threats, as well as two counts of fifth-degree assault for bodily harm.
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