Staff Report

An arrest has been made in connection with an incident in which a man had part of his ear bitten off at a Mount Airy bar earlier this month.

Wayne Ray Lawson Jr., 37, of Durham St., was arrested at his residence early Tuesday and charged with assault inflicting serious bodily injury.

Lawson was freed from the Surry County Jail under a $20,000 secured bond shortly after being taken into custody.

Officer L.T. Whitaker, who investigated the case and made the arrest, said that Lawson is accused of injuring George Franklin Goad during an attack at Hillbilly Bar & Grill on South Street during the early morning hours of June 8.

Goad, a resident of Murrell's Inlet, S.C., told police that while he was inside the establishment about 2:20 a.m., another man grabbed him for no reason and bit off a portion of his ear.

The victim was treated at Northern Hospital of Surry County, where he received stitches and antibiotics for his injured ear and was released, Whitaker has said, but the incident left a small section of the ear missing.

Whitaker has said that his investigation was hampered by difficulties in obtaining positive identification of the alleged assailant.

Lawson is scheduled to appear in Surry District Court on Tuesday.