Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — As part of restrictions put in place against Adam Whitlow Cumbie for allegedly assaulting a friend and girlfriend last March, the 28-year-old man was to stay out of trouble and refrain from using alcohol.

Cumbie allegedly broke the restrictions when he was arrested for drunken driving in Breckenridge about three months after his arrest in Steamboat Springs.

Cumbie was arrested on suspicion of DUI June 21. The case has yet to be resolved in Summit County.

Because of the arrest, Deputy District Attorney Charles Feldmann filed two new charges against Cumbie, who already faces charges of second degree assault with a deadly weapon, violent crime with use of a weapon, criminal attempt and third degree assault stemming from the March incident.

In addition to those charges, Feldmann charged Cumbie Dec. 29 with violation of a bail bond condition, a class six felony, and violation of a restraining order, a class one misdemeanor.

As part of Cumbie's bond condition and restraining order, he was not to consume alcohol or get into any more legal trouble, Feldmann said.

Cumbie appeared in 14th Judicial District Court Judge Joel S. Thompson's courtroom Friday afternoon.

Cumbie was advised by Thompson of the new charges. After a short court proceeding, Thompson set Cumbie's next court date for 1 p.m. March 9.

"Hopefully, you folks can resolve these cases during this time," Thompson said to Feldmann and to Cumbie's attorney, James Oliphant. "If not, we will set this for trial."

Trial might be the resolution that ends Cumbie's case.

"Our option is to go to trial," Oliphant said. "We are not guilty."

The new charges present a new twist in the former Steamboat Springs man's legal trouble.

Cumbie faces the assault charges for an incident that allegedly involved Cumbie, his girlfriend at the time, Melinda Wilding, and a friend, Andrew Wilson.

Cumbie allegedly struck Wilson in the head with a sledgehammer and assaulted Wilding when she tried to break up the fight between the two men.

In October, Feldmann and Oliphant worked out a plea agreement.

In December, Thompson rejected the agreement after a presentence investigation revealed Cumbie had been arrested on suspicion of DUI.

According to a court file, alcohol was a factor that led to the alleged assaults at Wilding's residence in the 2900 block of Chinook Lane March 31.

Cumbie was outside on a deck chopping a piece of wood with a hammer, which has a sharpened end and a blunt end, when the fight occurred between the two men, the file shows.

Cumbie allegedly hit Wilson in the head with the blunt end of the hammer, the file shows.

Wilson was treated at the Yampa Valley Medical Center for a bump to the back of his head, a bruised eye and a bloody nose, the file shows.

When Wilding attempted to intervene, Cumbie allegedly bit her on the "forearm and shoved her away with his feet, causing her to fall against the wall," the file shows.

The fight started because Wilson was trying to mediate a fight between the couple, the file shows.

Cumbie was arrested the next day when he was caught running from Wilding's residence.