Bond set at $50,000 for bar owner accused of placing USC student in chokehold

A man accused of attacking a University of South Carolina student in Five Points bar was identified on Friday as the bar’s owner.

Daniel Halsey Wells, 29, turned himself into Columbia Police investigators on Friday after the agency announced that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. A judge set his bond at $50,000, said Jennifer Timmons, spokeswoman for the police department.

Investigators identified Wells as a the owner of the Carolina Pour House through documentation and business licenses, Timmons said. He is facing charges of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

Wells is accused of walking up behind 22-year-old Ryan Chisolm, placing him in a chokehold until he was unconscious and then hurling him off to the side on March 19 while outside of the Carolina Pour House in Five Points.

Chisolm landed on his face. The impact from the fall broke his jaw and pushed his teeth into his gums. Chisolm has said he did not know his attacker. The incident was captured through the social networking site Snap.

Shortly before Columbia Police identified Wells as a suspect on Thursday, USC President Harris Pastides and the Five Points Association announced their backing of Chisolm. The association called the attack “cruel,” while Pastides called it “disconcerting.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 8:36 AM with the headline "Bond set at $50,000 for bar owner accused of placing USC student in chokehold."