Fact Check

Adrian 'Beast Mode' Merced

Did a man named Adrian Merced assault his girlfriend and yet may escape justice?

Published Oct. 8, 2014

Claim:

Claim:   A man named Adrian Merced assaulted his girlfriend and may escape justice.


MIXTURE


Example:   [Collected via Facebook, October 2014]


So I am asking all of my friends especially those with ties to Haverhill to share this status.. My 18 year old daughter was beat nearly to death the other night by her boyfriend Adrian "beast mode" Merced who is 240lbs and 6'3. She confronted him about cheating in her home while she was at work as the sole provider supporting the household, and some of the females are allegedly as young as 16. He lifted her off of her feet slamming her head into the wall and then smashed her into a mirror. As her little 105lb body bled out and was in and out of consciousness he proceeded to drag her around the house smashing her head into doorframes and off the floor. As she begged for her life and told him he was gonna get a murder charge thinking she was gonna die, he continued kicking her in the head and stomach. She promised to say that she fell and he finally called 911. Doctors said the CAT scan indicated that the laceration came one cm' shy of severing her artery which would have killed her. At the start of the argument she attempted to call 911 but he took her phone. A judge ordered bail at 10,000$ and it looks as though mommy and daddy are gonna wipe his ass for him. In addition he has an open case out of MA on an ex girlfriend who he also severely beat. Let's make this public so he is shown no leniency when he goes to trial. It is unacceptable for a man to get away with repeatedly beating up girls and then lying about it. It's time for some real justice to be served and hopefully this will put the pressure on the court to set an example.



 

Origins:   On 6 October 2014, a Facebook user posted the above-quoted text to the page for Massachusetts' Haverhill News along with photograph of someone identified as Adrian "Beast Mode" Merced.

As of 8 October 2014, that post had been shared more than 24,000 times and garnered more than 7,000 likes, and the rapid virality of that offering led many to seek information on the man identified in the photo and the incident presented in the accompanying account.

The Daily Sun newspaper of Laconia, New Hampshire, published an article on 7 October 2014 that seemingly corroborates at least some of the claims made in that text. According to that article, a 24-year-old by the name of Adrian Merced was arrested on 5 October 2014 and charged with one count of second degree assault, one count of simple assault, and one count of violation of a court order of protection:


According to police affidavits filed with the 4th Circuit Court, Laconia Division, police initially responded to the victim's apartment Saturday at 1:57 a.m. in answer to a 911 call. When they arrived they saw the victim had a cut on her head and Merced said she had accidentally fallen into a mirror.

At this point the victim also told police she had fallen. She was taken to Lakes Region General Hospital for treatment.

[Affidavits] said when police went to the hospital a few hours later to speak to her, she told them that she wanted an emergency order of protection regarding Merced, which was then granted by a circuit court judge.

Merced was the hospital at that time and was served in hand at 4:30 a.m.

At 4:19 p.m., police responded a second time to Union Avenue and the victim reported that Merced had sent her numerous text messages that began at 2 p.m. and ended at 3:44 p.m.

The victim told the officer that Merced threw her to the ground, threw her into the mirror — breaking it — and her threw her to the ground. In his criminal complaints, Merced is described as being 6-feet 3-[inches] tall and weighing 240 pounds.

At the hospital the victim received 10 staples in her head and eight to 10 stitches in her backside.


 

A mug shot of the Adrian Merced currently being held in Belknap County Jail in Laconia also matches that of the person pictured above, and a local police log reported the arrest of Merced for violating a protective order. (The jail record and police log both record Merced's age as 26, not 24.) Merced was arraigned in Laconia on 6 October 2014 but has not yet been tried in connection with the alleged assault.

Last updated:   9 October 2014


Sources:




    Laconia Daily Sun.   "Bradford Man Accused of Assault on Laconia Woman in Her Apartment."

    7 October 2014.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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