Man police say chased down, beat a bicyclist in Beaufort in December found in Georgia
Police found an Atlanta man, one of two they believe was responsible for a December attack on a man in Beaufort, and charged him with multiple felonies on Monday.
Kenneth Warnke Sr., 50, of Atlanta, Georgia, was charged Monday with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, criminal conspiracy and possessing a weapon in the commission of a violent crime, according to the Beaufort County Detention Center jail log.
On Dec. 28, the Beaufort Police Department asked members of the community on their Facebook page to be on the lookout for Warnke. The department said Warnke and his son had beaten a former employee on Dec. 2.
The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit, a task force dedicated to finding people accused of crimes, found Warnke on Jan. 5, said George Erdel of the Beaufort Police Department. He was later extradited to Beaufort County and charged.
Warnke’s son, Kenneth “Chase” Warnke, 24, of Lady’s Island, was charged on Dec. 15 with criminal conspiracy and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to previous reporting from The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. He was released on bail on Dec. 16.
What are police saying?
Around 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 2, police received reports about a fight at Hamar and Green streets. They found a bicycle and other items at Adventure and Green streets that they later learned belonged to the man who was allegedly assaulted.
Witnesses told police they saw men in a black Hummer try to run over a man on the bicycle. One man, the report said, had a baseball bat, and the other had a handgun. The bike rider was hit in his chest and leg with the bat before he was able to run away, police said.
An initial incident report for the assault was titled “armed robbery,” but investigator Josh Dowling from the department later said there was no evidence to support that anything had been stolen.
The man’s injuries were apparent, police said in the report. He told them his attackers had been following him and that the elder Warnke was carrying the handgun but did not point it at him. The bike rider told police he had worked for the Warnkes until Nov. 28 and that they owed him around $70 for approximately two days’ worth of yard work.
Warnke Jr. did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. Warnke Sr. was still in custody at the detention center in Beaufort as of Tuesday morning, and an attorney for him has yet to be identified, court records show.
