Authorities in Northwest Arkansas say three people have been arrested in two suspected gang-related attacks on a man last year.
The victim, 19-year-old Zachary Avans of Rogers, was found around 5:30 a.m. Dec. 9 bloodied and screaming while walking on Honeysuckle Road near Lowell, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Avans, who was later taken to Mercy Hospital in Rogers, told police that he went with Daniel Caruso, 33, to a bonfire, where several members of the 18th Street Gang attacked him, beat him with hammers and stabbed him in the head, according to the newspaper.
The teen reportedly said he believed the attack stemmed from him having tattoos representing that gang while having switched to another.
A responding officer recognized Avans from another attack in which the 19-year-old was taken April 2 to the hospital after being stabbed in the neck and back, the newspaper reported. He reportedly also suffered a collapsed lung.
Caruso, who faces a charge of accomplice to battery in the April 2 attack, denied being involved in the Dec. 9 attack or driving Avans to the location, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
He told police people were "out to get Avans" because he switched gangs, court documents cited by the newspaper show.
Also facing battery charges in the April 2 attack are Nathaniel Hawkins, 19, of Rogers and Joaquin Flores, 21, of Rogers, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Flores faces a similar charge in the Dec. 9 attack.
Caruso, Hawkins and Flores remained at the Benton County jail as of Thursday afternoon, according to an online inmate roster.
Their bail amounts have been set at $8,500, $38,500 and $125,000, respectively.
Two minors have also been arrested in the case, the newspaper reported.
Avans was also being held at the jail in lieu of $32,000 bond as of Thursday afternoon, records show. He faces charges that include delivery of methamphetamine/cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and revocation of suspended sentence or probation.
