A man in Arkansas was taken into custody after he hurled racial slurs at a black man and attacked him with a chain. Tanner Chase Thomas Bobbitt, who was brought in after the attack, claimed his actions were purely out of self-defense. Notably, Bobbitt, who is denying the allegations, is a repeat offender.
The 22-year-old man is facing charges for second-degree battery. KAIT revealed that official court documents detail how Bobbitt allegedly engaged in a violent confrontation with a passerby.
The victim of the attack reportedly told the authorities that he was riding a bike when he heard Tanner call him the N-word. The alleged aggressor then went on to threaten the man. That is where the man riding the bike drew the line.
He decided to confront the 22-year-old without realizing how quickly the situation was about to escalate. Bobbitt took out a chain he was carrying in his pocket and struck. The chain found its mark on the man’s head.
“Victim states that he confronted Bobbitt about what he had said, and Bobbitt produced a chain from his pocket and struck him in the head with it,” the affidavit read. According to the official document, the victim has sustained a laceration on his head.
When the officers examined it, the wound was also “actively bleeding.” When Bobbitt was brought in for questioning, he made a baffling claim. The 22-year-old claimed that his actions were motivated purely out of self-defense. He claimed that he was provoked by the rider.
Bobbit “stated that he did indeed call the victim the racial slur and hit him with the chain, but claimed he was provoked first.” The authorities also found a 1.5-foot-long metal log chain in the pocket of his jacket when he was searched.
After the arrest, he was booked into the Craighead County Detention Center. The NEA Report shares that Bobbitt maintained that he acted out of self-defense during his bond hearing. His bail was set at $20,000.
What’s surprising is that the man is a repeat offender. He was previously charged with a felony for stabbing a homeless man with a screwdriver. Back then, he claimed that he was attacked first.
The 22-year-old claimed that the homeless man slashed his heel with a machete, which is when he resorted to stabbing him. He is now at the detention center awaiting arraignment on November 25, according to K8 News.
