Affidavit: ‘Voices’ told teen to slash girl

MONTROSE — Teen slashing suspect Michael Yates chose his target at random, at the behest of “voices,” his arrest affidavit alleged.

Yates, 14, reportedly told Montrose Police investigators that “voices from within his head” led him to Montrose High School on Veterans Day, where he allegedly followed junior Mallory Haulman and her sister from the parking lot.

In chilling detail, the affidavit described Yates grabbing Mallory from behind, pulling her face to the side and slashing her throat. Yates then reportedly “stood and watched her as she grasped her throat and began to scream.”

Students and teachers rushed to the girl’s aid. Mallory, the daughter of Daily Press production manager Denny Haulman, is recovering after surgery to repair severe throat damage and has returned to school.

Yates was arrested a few blocks from Montrose High, after he allegedly ran from police and tried to hide. He was arraigned Wednesday on adult charges of attempted first-degree murder, a class-2 felony, and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, a class-4 felony.

A second boy was also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy; formal charges are pending against him. That youth is also 14. His parents said previously their son was “badgered” by police and that he only knew about the attack after the fact.

When interviewed, Yates allegedly stated: “I hurt somebody with a knife,” then said he’d been out all night Nov. 10, listening to voices in his head telling him to harm someone. The affidavit alleged Yates went to the school, where he was not enrolled, with that intent, although he didn’t know the person he was going to target.

“Yates told me that the voices from within his head were instructing him as to which person he was to choose,” Montrose Police Det. Mike Watson said in his affidavit. An affidavit is a document that lays forth the basis for an arrest. It is not proof of guilt.

“Yates went on to say that it was not until he saw the female individual that the voices told him ‘her.’”

According to information from subsequent court hearings, Yates was taken to Pueblo for an evaluation, then held at Grand Mesa Youth Services in Grand Junction.

Though now charged as an adult, Yates will continue to be held at Grand Mesa, Judge Jeff Herron ordered Wednesday.

Public defender Harvey Palefsky moved without opposition to preserve Yates’ rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments (pertaining to self-incrimination and speedy trial). He rescinded any prior waivers his client might have made. Palefsky asked that evidence be preserved in its original state, with no forensic testing, until his investigators could view it.

When Deputy District Attorney Lou Mehlig was given 10 days to respond to the last request, Palefsky asked for a preliminary order to stop testing until the motion could be decided.

“My concern is that in 10 days, the whole purpose of the motion could be defeated,” Palefsky said.

Mehlig did not oppose the preliminary order.

Yates is due back in court at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 9, to have a preliminary hearing set.

If Yates is convicted of attempted murder, he would face between eight and 24 years in prison, or even 48 years, if enough aggravating circumstances were proved. The sentencing range on his second charge could send him to prison for two to eight years, or up to 16 years, if aggravators were proved.

He could also be sentenced to Youthful Offender Services for up to seven years, with a suspended prison sentence, Herron advised.