FOX Carolina 21Deputies: Man hits another man in head with stick

Deputies said a Carlisle man hit another man in the head with a large stick after they got into a fight outside of an Union County convenience store.

Union County deputies said the verbal fight became physical when Nicholas Jeter, 29, hit 43-year-old Darnell Johnson, also of Carlisle, in the head with a 3- to 4-foot-long stick.

Witnesses said the fight took place at the Li'l Cricket on Highway 72 after the two men had spent several hours at the store and the fighting escalated until Jeter hit Johnson in the back of the head, according to the incident report.

Johnson called 911 about the assault from a Clear Branch Road residence where he then fell on the floor unconscious after telling someone else at the residence that he had been hit in the head with a bat, according to the report.

Deputies said Johnson was airlifted to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center trauma unit and was in critical condition as of midnight. Hospital spokespeople say Johnson was raised to "fair" condition Wednesday afternoon.

Sheriff David Taylor said Jeter was "positively identified" by witnesses who knew him by name. He said Jeter was charged with attempted murder and is being held at the Union County Detention Center.

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