South Carolina man accused of beating, choking 72-year-old mom unconscious
A South Carolina man is facing a felony assault charge after authorities say he beat and choked his 72-year-old mother unconscious Thursday after telling her he had wrecked her car and she began to cry.
The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office said in a release Friday that it has charged Jerry Lee Wood, 45, of Ladson, with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
The felony charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Deputies were dispatched to Mickler Drive around 7:20 a.m. Thursday. When authorities arrived about 10 minutes later, Wood’s mother told deputies she had just been assaulted by her son inside the home where they both live.
She told authorities her son got home around 7 a.m. after taking her vehicle without her permission. When Wood told her he had wrecked the car, she looked outside through the blinds in her living room and saw the damaged car.
That’s when she began to cry. But when she told her son that he was going to have to pay for the car, Wood lunged at her, according to an incident report.
The elderly woman told deputies her son knocked her phone out of her hands and began punching her in the face. She said Wood then knocked her to the ground and got on top of her.
He grabbed her by the hair, according to the incident report, and started banging her head against the ground.
That’s when she said her son told her he was “going to kill her” and that this was “her last day to live,”according to the incident report.
Deputies said Wood then began to strangle his mom until she lost consciousness.
When she regained consciousness, the woman saw Wood get off her. After he walked to the bathroom and shut the door, she told deputies that’s when she fled.
She called 911 from a neighbor’s house. When EMS arrived, she was transported to Summerville Medical Center for treatment.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Rick Carson said in a statement that the victim suffered “significant injuries in addition to being choked into unconsciousness.”
Dorchester County Sheriff’s deputies approached the home where the alleged assault took place and tried to talk to Wood.
Deputies say he refused to come out, shouting, “You better not come through that door mother (expletive).”
Deputies again tried to talk to Wood through the door.
Wood refused to comply and continued to shout, according to deputies.
“I have a bomb and a hostage,” Wood warned, according to deputies. “Get off my property mother (expletive).”
After their unsuccessful first attempt, deputies returned hours later with an arrest warrant.
Wood continued to say he had a bomb inside the house, and deputies decided to kick in the front door of the house.
They found Wood sitting on the couch in the living room. Deputies cuffed him, put him the back of a patrol car and drove him to the Summerville Medical Center after he told them his right foot might be broken.
He was later booked at the L.C. Knight Detention Center in Summerville.
On Friday morning, a judge set Wood’s bond at $150,000.
The investigation is ongoing, and the sheriff’s office said additional charges may be coming.
