Man charged with assaulting wife, police near I-64

A domestic dispute on the side of I-64 Saturday led to the arrest of a South Carolina man.

Shelby County Sheriff's deputies arrested Cray Ronald Turman and charged him with third-degree terroristic threatening, alcohol intoxication in a public place, three counts of third-degree criminal mischief, first-degree wanton endangerment, fourth-degree aggravated assault, menacing, and third-degree assault of a police officer.

Sheriff Mike Armstrong said a woman who said she was Turman's wife was screaming that he was trying to kill her when Deputy Mike Murray first arrived at the scene.

According to the report, Murray found Turman on top of the woman, hitting her as she lay in the snow-covered ditch line off the side of I-64. Deputy Riley Kennedy arrived at the scene a few moments later, and both deputies had to pull Turman from the woman and detain him, the report said.

When Turman was put inside the cruiser, he began kicking at the door and window and screaming death threats at the officers, the report said.

When Murray attempted to restrain him, Turman began kicking at the deputy, the report said. At that point, the report said Kennedy tased Turman in an effort to bring his behavior under control.

According to the sheriff's report, the woman showed deputies a personal size tasor/stun gun and said she had used it on Turman twice in an effort to keep him from hitting her but indicated it had had little effect.

The woman was taken to an undisclosed location where she would be safe from any further contact with Turman, the report said.

Turman was taken to the Shelby County Detention Center where Shelby District Judge Donna Dutton placed a $1,000 cash bond or $5,000 surety bond on his release pending a March 25 hearing date.

Asked whether $1,000 was an appropriate bond amount for Turman, Armstrong said such determinations aren't up to him.

"For all those charges and two felony charges with both involving risk of injury, and one to a deputy, the bond sounds awful low," Armstrong said, "but, my job is not to set bonds."

Turman had not bonded out by press time.