Yesterday afternoon at 2:50 pm, a young man walked into the Redding Police department. He arrived at the lobby and found a line of people at the reception window. Apparently frustrated by this, he hit a 49-year-old man with his fist, just about knocking him over. The victim did not know his assailant, and was apparently a random choice, or just the last one in line.
The young man, later identified as Branson Matthew Level, 22 of Redding, followed his attack by walking a few steps away and lying down on the floor. Officers rushed in and took him into custody, and the victim, who said he was “shaken” but otherwise uninjured, did request that battery charges be filed against Level.
Redding Police Station, where Level attacked a stranger
In addition to that arrest, it became apparent that Level’s purpose there was to turn himself in – he had two outstanding felony warrants, and is a parolee on supervised early release. Level had been arrested on December 13 for possession of a controlled substance and a parole violation, and again on January 4 for vandalism and obstructing a police officer. His court date was scheduled for January 27, which is why he likely had a warrant out for his arrest due to missing that date.
It appears that Level may have once again been under the influence of something, because despite the fact that he came to the Police Station himself, he continued to be uncooperative with the officers, and gave no explanation for his attack on the man in line. He was booked for battery, resisting arrest, his two warrants, and parole violations.
