Ketchum police reported Monday that a 38-year-old Minnesota man who was injured last week at the Casino Club on Main Street in Ketchum has been released from a hospital in Salt Lake City.
Carvin F. Buzzell, a former Blaine County resident, was transported by emergency helicopter to the University of Utah Medical Center with a head injury after being allegedly battered early Thursday morning.
Ketchum Police Chief Steve Harkins said no charges have been filed but police are continuing to investigate and trying to identify the alleged assailant, a man who was in Ketchum with a Salt Lake City band that played Wednesday evening at the Roosevelt Grille.
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In a news release issued Monday, police said the alleged dispute may have occurred because of "racial comments" Buzzell allegedly made toward the man, an assistant for the Matt Cifrese Band from Salt Lake City. Band leader Matthew T. Cifrese, 36, was also described by police as a suspect.
According to the police report, the confrontation occurred around 2:15 a.m. Thursday morning in front of the Casino Club.
"Reports from witnesses allege that Buzzell was making racial comments to a Cifrese band assistant, a black man in his mid 20s to 30s, while in the Casino Club," the news release states. "The altercation took place in front of the Casino bar while Cifrese and other members were loading their band equipment. The two suspects, Cifrese and the unidentified black male, fled the scene the night of the incident."
The news release further states that Cifrese was later contacted by police at a nightclub where the band was playing in Boise.
"Boise police arrived at the nightclub and interviewed Cifrese, who was reported to be uncooperative with authorities," the news release states. "The unidentified black male fled the nightclub through the back door as police arrived and has yet to be identified."
Police reported that Buzzell was in the area on a combination vacation and business trip.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
