Background: News footage of the Emerald Dental office in Lakewood, Colo. (KDVR). Inset: Michael Dewey Coleman (Lakewood Police Department).
A Colorado man who was working as an Amazon driver when he allegedly attacked a receptionist at a dental office was taken down by other employees and patients before police arrived.
Michael Dewey Coleman, 31, is in custody at the Jefferson County Jail after he was arrested on Monday by the Lakewood Police Department. According to police, Coleman arrived at the Emerald Dental office in Lakewood, Colorado, around 3 p.m. to drop off an Amazon package. An arrest affidavit obtained by local ABC affiliate KMGH stated that, rather than drop the package off and leave, Coleman allegedly grabbed the 21-year-old woman working at the front desk by her face with both hands and attempted to kiss her.
Police said the woman blocked her face with her hands and struck Coleman to get him away from her. He then lifted her by her clothing, pulling her out of her chair and exposing her. According to the affidavit, witnesses said that he was "trying to violate her" and tear her clothes off. Coleman also allegedly grabbed her buttocks.
Once the woman was back on the ground, she kicked him before he allegedly punched her in the face, breaking her nose. The woman told police that Coleman hit her several times.
According to the affidavit, a patient who was waiting in an exam room "heard the screaming" and came running to the front of the office, where he told police he witnessed Coleman "wearing a blue Amazon vest, pulling at the female employee's dress." The patient tried to get Coleman off the woman, and the defendant allegedly punched him in the face. A male employee, a dental hygienist, also intervened. He and the patient tackled Coleman to the ground and held him there until police arrived.
Officers arrived at the scene minutes later. Police said in the affidavit that Coleman appeared to be "in an altered state of mind." According to the affidavit, Coleman "was growling, sweating, he thought he was in the state of Texas and could not recall what had happened." Police said that he later became more coherent and said he knew where he was.
In an interview with local Fox affiliate KDVR, Dr. Stephanie Paswaters, the owner of the dental practice, said that she was one of the staff members who witnessed the aftermath of the alleged attack. She told KDVR, "I came around the corner as the screams escalated. I heard one person screaming, and it sounded like bloody murder, and the other person screaming, 'Help, somebody, come help!' It was my two front desk employees, [and] one was being attacked by a driver with an Amazon shirt on."
Paswaters told KDVR that her patients and staff were so traumatized by the incident that she closed the practice for a few days. The woman allegedly attacked by Coleman suffered a broken nose and two black eyes. Police also believe she was strangled.
A spokesperson from Amazon told both KMGH and KDVR that Coleman had been delivering Amazon packages through a third-party service, but was "no longer delivering packages to Amazon customers." Amazon said it was fully cooperating with authorities investigating.
Coleman was charged with sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, two counts of criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and harassment. He is currently in custody at the Jefferson County Jail, where he is being held on $50,000 bond. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 22.