Cyclist Accused Of Choking Hiker, Kicking Her Dog: Police

NOVATO, CA – A 63-year-old bicyclist from Marin County was arrested Friday after a hiker in the Mount Burdell Open Space in Novato reported to law enforcement that she allegedly was choked and her dog kicked by the suspect, according to the Marin County Sheriff Office.

Deputies were called to the outdoor area Thursday around 10 a.m. for the purported assault between a bicyclist and a hiker.

The female hiker told deputies the cyclist yelled at her and her off-leash dog after the dog barked at him, the agency said.

The woman said the man got off his bike and began kicking her dog, and as she tried to stop the attack by pushing him away, he reportedly knocked her to the ground and choked her, deputies said. The suspect then left the area in a van, while leaving behind his bicycle and personal items, officials said.

The suspect, later identified as Jeffrey W. Skelton, 63 of Novato was located and arrested Friday afternoon in the Hamilton area, but claimed the hiker assaulted him, deputies said.

Skelton was booked into the Marin County Jail for suspicion of assault likely to produce great bodily injury, cruelty to an animal and violation of probation.

The victim and dog did not sustain "lasting injuries," the department said.

• ALSO SEE: Suicide Prevention: Marin Co. Launches Online Survey

--Image via Renee Schiavone, Patch