By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
The Hays Police Department had an eventful night Saturday, with a handful of arrests being made, and numerous calls for more minor crimes.
"Halloween was a busy night," said Hays Police Department chief Don Scheibler.
During one incident, HPD officers took into custody a naked Hays man following an alleged assault.
At around 1:24 a.m. on Nov. 1, officers were dispatched to the 500 block of Ash following a report of a physical disturbance, Scheibler said.
The reporting party told police that a fight between a man and a woman was occurring, with the woman screaming "Let me go," he said.
When officers arrived, the man was located and was smeared with blood, Scheibler said.
He was also reported to be completely naked.
The suspect, later identified as Dustin Jay Kraft, 34, then attempted to flee on foot, as officers pursued.
He continued to resist, and officers deployed a taser, but the suspect continued to assault officers while also making threats upon the life of the officer, Scheibler said.
Officers would eventually detain Kraft under suspicion of domestic battery, criminal threat against a law enforcement officer, criminal threat, drug possession and drug paraphernalia.
Kraft has previous convictions including drug possession in Ellis County from an incident in 2017, as well as convictions for battery and obstructing a legal process in Norton County from an incident in 2019.
During an unrelated incident at a local bar the night of Halloween, a man described to be wearing a "shimmering gold mermaid outfit" was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct after refusing to leave a bar in downtown Hays, Scheibler said.
And another incident led to an individual being arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery and drug possession.
Between 2:30 a.m. and 2:40 a.m., a victim reported walking west on the 200 block of West 10th and being struck in the back of the head, which caused him to fall, Scheibler said.
He also reported being kicked in the face by the suspect and lost consciousness.
Following that incident, Cody Lohrding, 20, Hays, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery and drug possession.