Steamboat Pilot & Today

Police are looking for five men who reportedly attacked and robbed a Steamboat Springs man late Monday night.

Thomas Archibald, 27, suffered bruises to his head and forearm and cuts to his hand when a group of five unidentified men assaulted him outside a friend's Shadow Run apartment.

He refused medical care.

People who live in Shadow Run Apartments saw the assault and reported it to police just before 11 p.m.

Archibald left his friend's house about 10:30 p.m.

He noticed a group of people, all wearing hooded sweatshirts, following him not long after he left and started to walk faster, according to police reports.

One man in the group called out to Archibald. The man, whom Archibald described as having dreadlocks, accused him of breaking into his house.

Archibald told police he didn't know what his attackers were talking about, Steamboat Springs assistant police chief Art Fiebing said.

Archibald told police he fell to the ground and curled up into a fetal position to protect himself.

Archibald remembers one man was holding nunchakus, a piece of martial arts equipment, and another man was holding a baseball bat. He told police he didn't know if his attackers hit him with the bat. He was aware that the $28 in his wallet was taken during the assault.

When police arrived, they found a baseball bat about 20 feet from where the assault occurred.

The suspects took off before police could apprehend them.

The group fled when people in the apartment complex noticed the commotion and came outside.

Fiebing said there was at least one witness to the reported beating.

The suspects could face charges of second-degree assault, felony menacing for using a deadly weapon and aggravated robbery for stealing money from Archibald.

Police are asking for help in locating the suspects. Anyone with information about the incident should contact Routt County Crime Stoppers at 870-6226 or the Steamboat Springs Police Department at 879-1144.

Callers to Crime Stoppers do not have to reveal their names and may be eligible for a cash reward if their information helps police solve the case.