Samuel Caruthers, an anesthesiologist, currently faces charges of aggravated assault and child endangerment.
VERNON -- The Morris County anesthesiologist accused of attacking a 12-year-old boy in an apparent "ski rage incident" at Mountain Creek served three years of probation after he allegedly assaulted a man walking his Golden Retriever in Maryland nearly six years ago, according to records obtained by NJ Advance Media.
These records show Samuel Caruthers, 44, of Mountain Lakes, was issued probation before judgment on a charge of second-degree assault in connection with an incident that occurred on May 8, 2010 in Frederick, Md.
Caruthers later had his name expunged from reports surrounding the 2010 incident, but a statement he submitted to the Frederick County Sheriff's Department still bears his name and signature.
Caruthers told the sheriff's deputy he was bit by a man's dog and then became involved in an altercation with the man. The man, however, said he tried to move away from Caruthers because his dog has a tendency to jump on joggers but Caruthers came toward him nonetheless.
The dog then jumped on Caruthers and the two men disputed whether Caruthers had been bitten by the dog. The man told the deputy that Caruthers punched him in the face and pushed him to the ground.
The sheriff's deputy who investigated the incident reported that the dog appeared friendly and the doctor's injury appeared consistent with a scratch as opposed to a bite. The deputy also said the owner of the dog had a bloodied nose and lip, a scrape on his knee and a cut on his elbow.
Records obtained by NJ Advance Media show Caruthers accepted a guilty disposition in Aug. 2010 for second-degree assault, which is a misdemeanor in Maryland, and he received a suspended sentence of 18 days and a three-year term of unsupervised probation. He was later permitted to expunge his name from the case.
Maryland, unlike New Jersey, doesn't permit the expungement of felony convictions. It does, however, permit the expungement of charges in certain circumstances such as if a person was found not guilty, if the charge was dismissed, if the State's Attorney failed to prosecute the case, or if -- as in Caruthers' case -- the charge resulted in probation before judgment.
Probation before judgment isn't a conviction and it doesn't necessarily mean someone admitted guilt; instead, the court assigns a guilty disposition to the individual for the purpose of the sentence. Probation before judgment is comparable to deferred adjudication in which a judge can hold off entering a judgment against a defendant as long as certain conditions are met. The judgment is effectively set aside if the individual successfully completes the terms of probation.
Dino Flores, the attorney who represented Caruthers in the Maryland case, said his former client would have no comment.
"There may have been a closed case as far as Maryland is concerned," he said. "Dr. Caruthers is not going to comment on a case that doesn't exist legally."
Last month, Caruthers was charged with punching a boy in the mouth and striking him with the end of a ski pole during a "ski rage incident" at the local ski slope. Police have said the boy was visibly injured when officers arrived at the scene.
The anesthesiologist was skiing with his own child when the 12-year-old boy fell into them, prompting the assault, police said. He's pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree aggravated assault and third-degree child endangerment.
Caruthers' attorney, Robert Dunn, previously told NJ Advance Media his client was sorry for any misunderstanding.
"My client had no intention of causing any harm to this young man," Dunn said. "It was more in the nature of an accident."
Dunn has not yet responded to additional requests for comment placed by NJ Advance Media.
Caruthers was also involved in an incident in Englewood in March 2013 in which the sideview mirror of his BMW allegedly struck a protester who was standing in the middle of the Metropolitan Medical Services driveway where the anesthesiologist worked.
The protester filed a complaint of assault by auto against the doctor. Caruthers disputed the protester's version of events, saying the protester either blocked his path on the driveway or deliberately stepped in front of his vehicle.
The protester, he said, also had a video camera he was using to record his exploits. Caruthers then filed a disorderly conduct complaint against the protester for creating a public annoyance.
Both the protester's complaint and Caruthers' complaint were dismissed on May 14, 2013 for lack of prosecution.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
