Homeless Man Charged With Assault, Battery

CLEVELAND, Ga. – Michael Anthony Jones, 34, of Portland, Maine, has been charged with aggravated assault by strangulation and simple battery, following an altercation at 376 Brianwood Drive in Cleveland last week.

According to the police report, Stephen Campbell told White County deputies he and Jones were involved in a verbal argument and that Jones began to strike him in the face and grabbed him around the throat. He said they fell to the floor and Jones continued to strike him in the face. He said his wife, Sherry, got a handgun and fired a shot into the floor in an effort to get him off her husband.

Jones told police that he was homeless and that the couple had allowed him to stay at their home for the past week. When the two men began fighting in the kitchen, Jones said Sherry struck him in the head with a stick and Stephen Campbell then pulled a knife on him. Campbell’s wife said she did not strike Jones and only fired the gun to try and get him off her husband.

Deputies observed a laceration on his Jones’ head and he was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Campbell did not require transport.

When the hospital notified White County authorities that Jones was ready for discharge, he was handcuffed and transported to White County Detention Center.

Deputies reported that while Jones was being taken to the detention center he threatened to kill Campbell when he was released. The threat was audio and video recorded.