Man Charged With Attack On Nephew Using Shovel

GARY, Ind. (STMW) -- Demetrius Woods, 43, arrested outside his home Tuesday night, has been charged with battery by means of a deadly weapon, aggravated battery and battery resulting in serious bodily injury for his alleged attack on his 26-year-old nephew with a steel shovel.

"I had to lay him out, officer, I had to lay him out," Woods told police who arrived on the scene about 8 p.m.

The victim, Eric Woods, was lying on the ground outside his uncle's house at 2157 Vermont St., when Patrolmen Tommie Tatum and Primo Rodriguez arrived. He was "on the ground shaking and bleeding from the mouth," the probable cause affidavit states. He remains in serious condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, with a "massive" brain injury, the affidavit states.

Witnesses told Detective Lorenzo Davis that the two men had argued over the course of the evening, and at one point, Demetrius Woods had "grabbed a steak knife from the kitchen," the affidavit states.

When the disagreement moved outside, the victim's uncle grabbed the shovel and hit his nephew in the head three times, the affidavit states.

Woods is being held at Lake County jail on $60,000 bail. He appeared in Lake Superior Court on Friday and was assigned a public defender to represent him. His next court appearance is set for Wednesday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)