A 40-year-old Lyman man has been charged with felony assault charges in connection with an altercation in that community Thursday night last week.
Prosecutors have charged Robert French with Use of a Deadly Weapon to Commit a Felony and Second Degree Assault, Class 2 and 2A felonies, following a fight that broke out in front of the Lyman Fire Hall.
In court documents, the victim told investigators French engaged the man ‘face to face’, that he had enough of French picking on his son and that night French had made contact with his son. He said during the argument, he told French to never touch his kid again.
The victim said at that time, French then punched him in the head, grabbed an angle grinder from the man’s hand and started to hit him with the power tool while still throwing punches, at which point he fell to the ground.
The man said he and French then started ‘scrapping’ on the ground, at which time bystanders separated them.
During an interview with officers, French said he remembered having been hit twice during the altercation, including being hit once by the grinder.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for July 29 in Scotts Bluff County Court, with initial bond set at $50,000 with a ten percent provision.
EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story failed to clarify the victim was upset with the suspect’s interactions with his son. KNEB News regrets the error.
