Man arrested after unprovoked attack of elderly man outside Redding bar

June 28, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

REDDING, Calif. — Authorities say a man who was captured on video surveillance attacking an elderly victim outside a Redding bar early Saturday morning, June 26, was arrested the following day after he was located and reportedly admitted his role in the apparently unprovoked attack.

Surveillance footage later obtained by Redding Police Department, which has been widely shared across social media and led to a community outcry for justice for the 73-year-old victim, showed the alleged suspect bashing the elderly, deaf man’s head against a wall at least three times, before the victim falls to the ground unconscious. Although there is no sound in the video footage, which can be viewed below, another patron of the bar is then seen finding the victim unconscious on the ground before he begins rescue chest compressions in an effort to revive him.

The alleged suspect, Christopher “Red Red” Meagher, 45, of Redding, was also reportedly involved in a May altercation at a downtown Redding restaurant that involved two local activists, Carlos Zapata and Nathaniel Pinkney. Zapata and Pinkney sit on opposite sides of a contentious, ongoing and highly publicized battle to recall Shasta County supervisors Joe Chimenti, Leonard Moty and Mary Rickert.

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Officers were dispatched to The Tropics at 2555 South Market Street around 1:30 a.m. after receiving reports of an assault involving an elderly man, Redding Police Corporal Wes Townsley reported this morning.

Responding officers learned the victim had been assaulted and knocked unconscious as he was leaving Tropics with his dog. Officers also learned that the alleged suspect, quickly identified as Meagher due to his other recent run-ins with local law enforcement officers, had already fled the scene prior to their arrival.

Christopher “Red Red” Meagher, 45, of Redding, is seen confronting a 73-year-old man outside The Tropics in Redding moments before he grabbed him and repeatedly bashed his head against a wall. He was later interviewed and arrested with elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon likely to result in great bodily injury. Redding Be Like screenshot (Image 1), Redding PD photo (image 2).

Thanks in large part to a good Samaritan seen in the surveillance video wearing a white cowboy hat who performed CPR on the victim, identified only as “Bob” by those who know him, the elderly man was revived at the scene before being rushed to an area hospital for further treatment. He was later released and is continuing to recover from the attack.

Although officers searched the area for Meagher that morning, they were not immediately able to locate him or his vehicle on Saturday. However, as officers continued to search for him on Sunday they located and arrested him at an associate’s residence, according to Townsley.

He was later interviewed at the Redding PD Detectives Division where he provided a statement to Elder Abuse Investigator Kongkeoviman regarding the incident.

Based on their investigation and findings, officers booked Meagher into Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of felony elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon likely to result in great bodily injury. Online jail records indicate he remains in custody in lieu of $25,000 bail or bond.

Anyone with further information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Redding PD at (530) 225-4200. Callers can refer to incident file number 21R042167 and can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.