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Medford man accused of beating man he thought was an informant Joshua Haggans Friday Jun 2, 2017 at 12:55 PM Jun 2, 2017 at 12:55 PM Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune @VickieAldous A Medford man is facing assault charges after he allegedly beat another man who he believed was a police informant, causing brain bleeding. Medford police say the alleged victim was not an informant. Joshua Noah Haggans, 44, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of second-degree assault, third-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. He remains lodged in the Jackson County Jail on $130,000 bail with a pre-trial conference scheduled for June 12 in Jackson County Circuit Court. The situation unfolded on Dec. 20, 2016, when the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement Team served a drug search warrant on a South Columbus Avenue address. A group of people at the address were detained during the search, according to a probable cause affidavit by Medford police. "During the service of the warrant, the nine people detained were all trying to figure out who the informant was, and since only one person was gone at the time the warrant was served, they were guessing that it was him," the affidavit said. At least five of the people at the home were jailed, including Haggans, who was wanted on warrants, the affidavit said. Haggans was released from jail after about eight hours, at approximately 4 a.m. on Dec. 21. He allegedly went directly back to the South Columbus Avenue address and confronted the man who had not been present when the search warrant was served, the affidavit said. Haggans accused the man of being a snitch or informant — an accusation the man vehemently denied, the affidavit said. Haggans allegedly grabbed a motorcycle helmet and hit the man in the head. Others in the home intervened and the man escaped through a window, the affidavit said. The man initially didn't go to a hospital, but after a headache and other symptoms worsened over the next few days, he had a friend take him to the Providence Medford Medical Center emergency room. Doctors discovered he had an intracerebral brain bleed. He was airlifted to a trauma center in Portland, where he was hospitalized for about a week, the affidavit said. The man never reported the alleged assault, but his son reported it on Dec. 30. During the subsequent investigation, the man eventually said the suspect's name was Josh and he picked Haggans' photo out of a photo lineup, the affidavit said. In 2015 and again in 2016, Haggans pleaded guilty to methamphetamine possession. He also has a pending meth possession case. Reach staff reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous.