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Woman attacked with a hammer in San Tan Valley; suspect arrested

By and
Updated  January 23, 2024 9:49am MST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 10 Phoenix

PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. - Authorities say a man involved in the assault of a woman in Pinal County has been taken into custody.

The Pinal County Sheriff's Office says 39-year-old Patrick Wolfe hit the 81-year-old victim with a hammer on the night of Jan. 20 near San Tan Valley.

Court document details what allegedly happened

We have obtained court documents in the case against Wolfe, which gave additional details on what happened.

Documents state that PCSO was contacted on the afternoon of Jan. 20, with the caller reporting that Wolfe had attacked their friend. By the time deputies arrived, Wolfe had left the area where the attack happened.

"[Name redacted] was observed to have a wound to the side of her head, and was bleeding," read a portion of the court documents. "[Name redacted] was later transported to Chandler Regional Hospital for further medical care to include surgery."

Investigators wrote that the suspect and his mother went to a home to look at horses when the incident happened.

On Sunday, the sheriff's office said the truck was spotted at San Tan Regional Park. Deputies searched the area and found Wolfe in a vacant trailer.

Wolfe, according to the documents, is accused of three counts of aggravated assault and a count of theft of means of transportation. A secured appearance bond of $10,000 has been set for Wolfe by a judge.

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Patrick Wolfe (PCSO)

Victim's son speaks

AZ man accused of attacking woman with hammer

A woman in the San Tan Valley area is in the hospital after she was hit in the head with a hammer. FOX 10's Marissa Sarbak reports.

The victim was initially listed in critical condition. We spoke with her son on Jan. 22, who identified her as 81-year-old Marcia Adado.

"She’s had a hard life," said Mark Bird. "She brought up three boys basically on her own, and she didn’t deserve this. She just simply didn’t deserve this."

Bird said Wolfe was the son of Adado's best friend. Bird also said the incident was entirely unprovoked.

"Evidently, there were no problems of any sort, and all of a sudden, her best friend's son walked into a barn, grabbed some sort of hammer, and without warning or anything else, just walked up and walloped my mother in the side of the head," said Bird.

Bird said his mother is out of critical condition but remains in the ICU.

"I talked to her for about two minutes," said Mark Bird. "She knows who I am. She knows my voice. She just is having a really hard time forming words."

Bird also said the doctors have told him that the next few days will be critical.

"She had brain bleeding and brain swelling, and of course it fractured pieces of her skull and sent it into her brain," said Bird. 

Adado's family reportedly wants to fly to Arizona from Michigan to see her, but do not have the financial resources to do so. A GoFundMe has been set up to help with some of the expenses.

Meanwhile, Bird is hoping his mother will be able to make a full recovery.

"Trying to get the word out, that the craziness in the world has to be eradicated," said Bird.