Editors Note: This article was originally published in the Aug. 30, 2023 issue of the Chronicle Progress. Some information may be outdated.
A couple passing through Delta from California were in town all of 15 minutes before a strange man entered the RV they were staying in and made a number of frightening comments, police reported.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to Antelope Valley RV Park on Aug. 22 after reports of an intoxicated male who was “very angry.”
When deputies arrived, a group of witnesses pointed them to an area of the park where the suspect was allegedly hiding.
A deputy was able to coax the man from his hiding spot and put him in handcuffs. While restraining the man, the deputy noticed blood on the suspect’s fingers.
When asked to sit down and talk with the officer, the suspect, 45-year-old Frederick Clark, became belligerent, claimed he was a Native American and that the arresting deputies were white supremacists, according to a probable cause statement filed in the case.
After deputies assisted the suspect into a patrol vehicle—without injury, it was noted—witness statements were taken, including from the woman who claimed Clark walked into her trailer unannounced and uninvited just minutes after she and her husband arrived.
The woman told deputies that she was inside the trailer near a bedroom, her husband outside hooking up the RV, when Clark stumbled in and asked the woman where her “Hell’s Angel husband” was. He also allegedly told the woman he wanted to make her his “Hell’s Angel b****.”
“(The female victim) could smell the alcohol coming from Fred and tried to keep him calm so he would not hurt her. She was able to shriek in an attempt to get her husband’s attention. (The male victim) came to the door and asked what Fred was doing in his trailer. Fred came down from the trailer and left to another trailer at that time,” the probable cause statement reads.
Other witnesses told deputies of an alleged, earlier physical fight between Clark and another man at the RV park. The other party, however, was not located and the suspect told deputies he couldn’t remember who he fought with.
While being transported to the county jail—Clark was later charged with felony burglary, intoxication, assault on a police officer and disorderly conduct—the suspect continued to act belligerently, even proposing to fight the deputy transporting him one on one.
According to the probable cause statement, Clark also threatened the transporting deputy, saying he was going “to hunt him and his family down and kill them.” He also allegedly threatened the deputy further by stating he would sexually assault the deputy’s daughter.
A criminal history was run on Clark and it was found that he has at least six prior arrests or convictions involving assaults, including a previous aggravated assault charge, felony criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and threatening.
Clark is an Arizona native in the area working on a “two-year construction project,” according to the probable cause statement. Deputies urged the court to withhold bail, arguing Clark might pose a flight risk or could continue to be a danger to the community.
A Fourth District Court judge agreed and ordered Clark held without bail. The suspect made an initial court appearance last Wednesday but his case was continued for a week. He is expected back before a judge this week for a waiver hearing.
