Brooksville man charged in beating, deputies say

A Brooksville man was charged Saturday with aggravated assault and battery after beating a man with his fists and threatening him with a wooden stick, Hernando deputies said.

Cory Ray Griest was being held at the Hernando County Detention Center on $5,500 bond.

Griest attacked the man at his residence in the 1100 block of Jackson Avenue, deputies said.

During the attack, the victim grabbed a four-foot stick to defend himself and Griest took it from him and raised it over his head in an attempt to hit him, according to an arrest report.

The stick didn’t hit the victim but Griest stuck him with his fists several more times, causing injuries to the left side of his head, face and shoulder area, deputies said.

Three witnesses corroborated the victim’s report, deputies said.

Griest was found a short distance from the incident and arrested.

He told deputies he didn’t know what happened at the scene and had no contact with the victim, deputies said.