Two males get drunk and belligerent, which turns into a fight
- Apr 30
- 4 min read
| by Travis Uresk | April 30th, 2026 |
Vernal, UT (4/28/26)—Officers with the Vernal City Police Department received a report of an individual who was being attacked. The complainant advised that the involved parties were being drunk and belligerent.
Officers arrived on scene and made contact with one of the involved parties, who had left the residence and was walking down the road. Officer White noticed the individual appeared to have a dark substance around his lips, which he suspected was blood.
During this investigation, it was learned that the individual the officer was speaking to, 35-year-old Eugene Murray Oocumma, is the brother-in-law of one of the primary suspects, 32-year-old Matthew Val Minjares.
Eugene said he was sitting there, minding his own business and listening to music. He described that Matthew scooted his sister close to a counter inside the residence and that he didn't know if his sister had just been struck by her husband or not.
Eugene described that Matthew approached him and punched him in the mouth. He told police that he didn’t try to fight back and that he attempted to restrain Matthew. Eugene said he saw an open shot on his brother-in-law and gave Matthew "one quick jab to the face.”
Eugene later stated that he had been hit once by Matthew, so he felt he should hit him back. Eugene then described that his sister told him to leave, so he did. Officer White observed the inside of Eugene's lip in the area that he indicated was hit by Matthew, and a small laceration on the inside of his upper lip that appeared to have been recently bleeding.
While the officer spoke to Eugene, he admitted that they were drinking and that he had personally consumed approximately a 12-pack of beer.
A records check of Eugene was also conducted, which indicated that he had an active warrant for his arrest out of the Vernal City Justice Court.
Officers remained with Eugene while Officer White spoke with the other involved parties at the original address. While he was speaking with the other parties involved, Eugene provided a breath sample via a Portable Breath Test (PBT). The results of that test resulted in a positive result for alcohol in Eugene's system (.108 BrAC).
Officer White spoke with Eugene's sister, who stated that her husband has been "swinging" at Eugene's.
Eugene's sister stated that she couldn't just let her husband beat up her brother. Eugene's sister said she and her brother had been hanging out all day, and that her husband was jealous.
Eugene's sister said they were hanging out when her husband got angry and tried to fight Eugene. Eugene's sister stated that she had to jump on her husband and try to help her brother, and that she was also fighting her husband.
Matthew described his wife as just hanging out, and Eugene had been gone for most of the day, and that everything seemed fine. Matthew stated that eventually things took a turn and that his wife was telling Eugene to punch him, and he was trying to defend himself, but he couldn't because he had a sweater over his face.
Matthew stated that it wasn't a fair situation because he had someone pull something over him and someone punch him at the same time. Matthew described that, as soon as he was able to get away, he went inside the house and locked the doors.
Matthew stated that he punched Eugene once, and then his wife kept telling Eugene get him, get him, get him. Matthew also had blood around his mouth and showed the officer his hand, and it appeared that one of his knuckles seemed to be swollen.
Matthew described that he was punched twice in the face, but he wasn't sure who did it. Matthew stated that he was pretty sure that it was Eugene. Matthew told police that Eugene had been living with them for about three days.
Matthew described that he had gone outside, and his wife and Eugene followed him. He then stated that his wife pulled his sweater over his face and told her brother to get him several times.
Matthew described that they had started wrestling inside the residence and eventually ended up outside, where the punching took place.
Eugene's sister stated that she believed that her husband might have had too much to drink and that he turned into a bully. She described that her husband and Eugene were fighting, and she got in the middle of it.
Eugene's sister stated that her husband eventually didn't want to fight anymore and wanted to get away from them, so he locked everyone out of the house. She then said her husband was attempting to hit Eugene, at which point she grabbed the sleeve of Matthew's jacket so that he couldn't punch him. She stated her husband then took his jacket off, at which point Eugene had left.
Matthew and Eugene agreed that they were both trying to fight each other. Officer White noticed a mark under Eugene's sister's eye, which she stated was a result of the altercation. The officer asked her who had caused the mark, and she stated that she did not know.
While on scene, Matthew provided a breath sample in the form of a Portable Breath Test (PBT). The results of that test indicated a positive result for alcohol in Matthew's system (.176 BrAC). Matthew Minjares was taken into custody and transported to the Uintah County Jail, where he was booked in.
Eugene was taken into custody and transported to the Uintah County Jail, where he was booked in.
Traffic and Criminal Report
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