A 79-year-old man was hospitalized Saturday afternoon for severe injuries related to an assault that authorities said could have claimed the man’s life.
Police said they have arrested the man’s adoptive son — 53-year-old Kevin Willis — in connection to the crime, which took place in the man’s home on Lemon Creek Road.
Witnesses told police that they witnessed Willis beat the victim, and that they intervened to stop the attack.
“… They thought Willis would have killed the 79-year-old male if they hadn’t stopped Willis,” Juneau Police Department Lt. Krag Campbell said in a release.
But police are investigating why the witnesses didn’t call for help earlier, and that they could possibly be charged with a crime.
“We’re still putting the pieces together,” Campbell said in a phone interview Monday.
The assault took place on Wednesday, but the victim laid in bed for three days to regain the strength to walk to the bus and go to the hospital. He was admitted at Bartlett Regional Hospital at 1 p.m. Saturday. He’s currently in stable condition.
BRH alerted the police to the situation, prompting an investigation.
“Most of the male’s face, head and neck were black and blue; both arms and legs had extensive bruising and there was a large open wound on his right arm. The male had bruising on his chest, stomach and back; bruising on his inner thighs and a large open wound on his right lower leg that had become infected,” JPD said in the release Monday.
The police added, “ER staff told police that due to the man’s age, prior health condition, and lack of medical care for three days, the injuries sustained in the assault could have been life threatening.”
JPD said in a release that it served a search warrant on the house to look for evidence at 7 p.m. Saturday, and that officers found blood on the carpets, walls and furniture of one of the rooms where the assault was reported to have taken place. Willis lived in the residence as well.
Willis was charged with second-degree assault, a class B felony offense, and was to Lemon Creek Correctional Center where he was held without bail.
The assault is a domestic violence charge, given that Willis and the victim are related via adoption and live together in the same residence.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
