Suspect arrested after beating
A 41-year-old man was hospitalized shortly after 7:30 p.m. Saturday following a call to the 440 block of Fields Road north of Byhalia, according to sheriff Kenny Dickerson.
A call came into 911 reporting the victim was unresponsive and severely injured in the head, as he lay face down in the roadway, he said. Officers responding to the scene saw a large wound in the head area and lots of blood, according to Dickerson. The victim was unconscious.
Deputies investigating the incident identified and arrested a suspect, while the victim was first transported to Methodist Olive Branch then flown to the Regional One Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn.
Officers arrested a suspect following a brief investigation by officers. The suspect, Kenneth Lee Horn, 48, of the 500 block of Fields Road, was taken into custody. Dickerson said investigators smelled an odor believed to be alcohol on the breath of the suspect at the time of his arrest between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Officers, who knew the suspect, believed there had been a verbal and physical altercation in the 100 block of Fields Road, at the address of the victim.
Dickerson said the suspect was charged with aggravated assault, which would be upgraded to murder if the victim dies.
Horn made an initial appearance Monday afternoon in justice court. Bond was set at $50,000, and the suspect remained in jail Tuesday, according to Dickerson.
Investigators are seeking forensic evidence and any information which may contribute to the case, the sheriff said.