WARREN, Maine — A 47-year-old Warren man is being held in lieu of $25,000 cash bail after police said he beat another man who had come to the aid of a domestic violence victim.
David H. Atwood was arrested Thursday by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and charged with aggravated assault, domestic violence aggravated assault and possession of drugs.
According to an affidavit filed in Knox County Unified Court by the sheriff’s office, police responded when the victim of the attack, which occurred in Warren, stopped and reported the incident to police in Thomaston.
The man reportedly said a friend had called him and asked for his assistance in helping her and her two young children move out of a residence in Warren where she was being abused by Atwood. The man went to the home and shortly after, Atwood arrived and began striking him with a 36-inch-long wooden dowel, according to the police affidavit.
When the man fell to the ground, Atwood allegedly began trying to strangle him from behind. The man reportedly was able to break free and fled in his vehicle.
When police arrived at the Warren residence, they interviewed the woman who said that Atwood had accused her of seeing someone else and pulled on her index finger to the point that separated, according to the affidavit. This was the same finger that she had recently undergone treatment for a life-threatening infection in which there was a possibility the finger would need to be amputated, according to the affidavit. Atwood knew of her condition when he twisted it, the woman told police.
According to the affidavit, the man who was assaulted went to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport and may have suffered a brain injury from the attack.
Police said they found Suboxone on Atwood when they arrested him.
Atwood made his initial appearance in court on Friday afternoon. He entered no plea because the assault charges are felonies.