3 men jumped downtown early Saturday

Three Madison men were punched by house party-goers and one suffered a bloody nose and swollen eye early Saturday, according to police.

Initially, police said two Madison men jumped another man, a college student in his early 20s, and punched him in the head on the 100 block of North Broom Street.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said two other young men met the victim a few blocks away because they told police they didn’t want the victim to walk alone. The men met up with the victim and encountered the two alleged batterers at the 400 block of West Washington Avenue, DeSpain said.

The victims told police that one of the aggressors claimed to have a gun. The aggressors then also punched the two newcomers multiple times, according to the report.

Juakein Coles, 22, and Joseph Lentz, 23, both of Madison, were arrested on suspicion of battery at about 3 a.m., according to the report. Prior to arrest, a witness had led police to a house party where the alleged aggressors were found playing beer pong, a drinking game, according to the report.

DeSpain said the two men were also each charged with “casual possession” of marijuana.

Police said Coles and Lentz denied wrongdoing.

The man who suffered the bloody nose declined medical treatment, according to the report.