A local man was arrested Friday night for allegedly hitting his neighbor in the head multiple times with a wooden rod outside his residence.
Mark Mitchell Pennington, 51, who lists a Lakeaire Terrace address, was taken into custody at his residence shortly after 8 p.m. and charged with a felony count of second-degree battery, punishable by up to six years in prison.
Pennington, who also had a warrant for failure to appear, was held on a $6,000 bond and was set to appear Monday in Garland County District Court.
According to court records, he lists no prior felony history, but was convicted of misdemeanor third-degree domestic battery in 2020 and sentenced to one year of supervised probation, and had two prior misdemeanor convictions for driving while intoxicated in 2011 and 2018.
According to the probable cause affidavit, around 7:15 p.m. Friday, Garland County sheriff's Deputy Michael Wagner responded to a residence in the 100 block of Lakeaire Terrace regarding a battery and spoke to the male victim, 53, outside in a gravel lot.
Wagner noted the man had "swollen red marks" and "blood all over his face." The man stated his neighbor, identified as Pennington, had "snuck up behind him" while he was outside and then struck him several times with a wooden rod.
The man walked Wagner over to the area where he was allegedly attacked and pointed to a wooden rod on the ground, identifying it as the weapon used, so Wagner seized it as evidence.
Multiple attempts were made to establish contact with Pennington inside his residence that were unsuccessful. Finally, after knocking on the door repeatedly, Pennington opened it and came outside. He was taken into custody without further incident and transported to the detention center where he was booked in shortly after 10:30 p.m.