A Marceline man accused of punching a 10-year-old on March 21st faces two felony charges in Linn County.
Thirty-one-year-old Patrick Colby Niemeier has been charged with third-degree domestic assault and abuse or neglect of a child—no sexual contact.
Niemeier entered a plea of not guilty in the Associate Circuit Court on March 24th and requested his own recognizance bond based upon his inability to post any bond. The state opposed the modification based on him posing a risk to community safety. The court noted Niemeier’s status on felony probation on two Linn County cases, and the state indicated that motions to revoke are pending. The court denied the request for bond change. No previous bond was shown. A bond hearing is scheduled for April 8th.
A probable cause statement from Deputy Dawson Simanton from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office accuses Patrick Niemeier of speaking to Lori Niemeier in a raised tone. The child reportedly told him to stop yelling at the woman, who is described as Patrick’s mother and the child’s grandmother. Lori told the deputy she could not see Patrick when she heard a smacking sound.
The probable cause statement notes the child said Patrick Niemeier used his fist to hit him or her in the arm. Simanton reports he saw pictures of three dime-sized bruises in a line on the child’s arm.
In an interview, Patrick Niemeier allegedly said the child had been “disrespectful.” It was noted he provided several versions of the incident. In some versions, he reportedly admitted to smacking the child, and in others, he said he grabbed the child.
