Sparta man is hurt in Atwood St. assault

A Sparta man remained in serious condition at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center as of midday Tuesday after being assaulted on July 9.

Carlis Paul Whitaker, 48, was found by passers-by on Atwood Street at 9:30 p.m., suffering what emergency workers first thought was a gunshot wound. He was unconscious and bleeding from puncture wounds. Whitaker had wounds on the front of his head and behind his ear, which appeared similar to gunshot entry and exit wounds to the first responders on the scene. Authorities later learned that the wounds were caused by a blunt-force trauma.

Sparta Police Department Officer Tim Bartlett said that Gregory Mark Bryan, 42, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury after the incident. Bryan is alleged to have struck Whitaker with a wooden stick about two feet long, a warrant said. No gunshots of any kind were reported, Bartlett said.

"We're still unable to determine all the facts of how the incident occurred.

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