Man charged with punching female employee at haunted house

SALT LAKE CITY — A Layton man has been charged with aggravated assault after police say he punched a woman in the face while she was working at a haunted house.

The woman told police she had been hit in the face by a man inside Nightmare on 13th Street, 320 W. 1300 South. The man then laughed and walked away, according to charging documents filed in 3rd District Court.

Angelo Demetry Apadaca, 25, was arrested Saturday and booked into Salt Lake County Jail in connection with the incident. On Wednesday, he was charged with aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.

A witness told police he overheard Apadaca saying the incident was funny.

An officer working at Nightmare on 13th interviewed the victim and reported that the young woman's face was covered in blood and her two front teeth had been pushed back, pointing inward toward the back of her mouth.

The victim was taken to University Hospital for medical attention.

Apadaca was seen exiting the haunted house with blood on his hand, charges state, and upon talking to police, he admitted he had hit someone. 

Surveillance footage showed the woman being punched and falling to the ground, police said.

A search of court records found that Apadaca was convicted of attempted manslaughter, a third-degree felony, and sentenced to a year in jail in 2004. A misdemeanor assault charge was filed against him in 2006 but later dismissed.

— McKenzie Romero

Twitter: @McKenzieRomero