Bullhead City police arrest man in fatal attack

KINGMAN, Ariz. -- Police in Bullhead City, Ariz., have identified a man who was killed Tuesday night and also have made an arrest in the case.

The man who was slain was 50-year-old Douglas Bryan Gardner of Bullhead City, who died of head trauma, according to Emily Montague, police department spokeswoman.

A transient called authorities to a brushy area on the Arizona side of the Colorado River near the bridge that crosses into Laughlin to report a man on the ground there. She said she had found him after she heard two men arguing in the area. When emergency personnel arrived about 10:30 p.m., Gardner was found dead.

Witness descriptions of a pickup seen leaving the area and follow-up investigation led to the Thursday morning arrest of 39-year-old Matthew Antonio McCalman of Bullhead City, Montague said. McCalman is being charged with first-degree murder, Montague said.

She said police were told that the victim and suspect recently had been "hanging out" together. Police had not yet determined what sparked the violence.