A 62-year-old man is currently in the Bartow County Jail after allegedly committing a violent attack and leading law enforcement on a chase in the Acworth area last week.
The victim reported that he stepped outside a residence on Lynn Circle near Acworth and briefly sat on the porch when he suddenly felt a hand wrap around his throat with great force. He recognized the attacker as Bruce Edwin Smith, a former co-worker who supposedly blamed him for his previous incarceration and intended to kill him. The victim claimed that Smith punched him, knocked him to the ground, mounted him, and continued to hit him in the face and head while choking him.
To defend himself, the victim found a pair of bolt cutters. However, Smith reportedly took the cutters away and continued the assault. After some time, Smith allegedly stopped, went into the house, grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, and sat on the porch, drinking it while the victim lay on the ground. Smith then left the scene.
A deputy noted that the victim had sustained injuries to his arms, elbows, back, head, ears, nose, eye, and neck.
Later, a resident of Groovers Landing Road in Acworth observed Smith standing in his front yard, leaning against a tree. This resident has a no-contact order against Smith. Smith reportedly subsequently walked into the nearby woods.
Deputies later discovered Smith lying on the ground beside the bridge crossing I-75. When they ordered him not to move, he purportedly attempted to flee. The chase allegedly went down the embankment and alongside I-75, during which deputies made two unsuccessful attempts to tase him. Eventually, Smith reportedly dropped the rock he was carrying, and deputies took him into custody.
Bruce Edwin Smith now faces charges of aggravated assault resulting in strangulation, aggravated battery, violating a family violence order, and obstructing a law enforcement officer.
WBHF
