TOWER, Mich. (WWJ) -- A Northern Michigan resident has been arrested and charged after police said he assaulted a man, sending him to an intensive care unit.
William Ray Ezell was arrested on Thursday, in connection with the incident over the summer, on Ezell's property in Tower Township, west of Onaway.
Michigan State Police said troopers with the Gaylord Post responded in June of 2023, to the emergency room at McLaren Northern Michigan hospital where staff said they were treating the victim of an assault.
The patient was transferred to McLaren in Petoskey where he underwent surgery for a brain bleed and an unknown spinal injury, according to police, before being admitted to the ICU in critical condition.
MSP said Ezell, 60, was the person who called 911 and was there when EMS arrived.
As for what happened, Ezell told troopers that the victim, who lived in a camper on his property, had knocked on his door that day.
He said there was a confrontation — although he didn't say why — and then a physical fight between him and the other man before the victim went back to the camper.
Ezell told police he later went to check on the victim and found him unresponsive on the bed in the camper. He said he tried to help the man while he waited for EMS to arrive.
A report on the assault was turned over to the Cheboygan County Prosecutor's Office and a warrant was issued for Ezell's arrest on Oct. 4.
On Oct. 12, Ezell was stopped Cheboygan County Sheriff's deputies, taken into custody, and booked in the Cheboygan County Jail.
He was arraigned in 89th District Court on Friday on one count of Assault With Intent to do Great Bodily Harm less than Murder, and one count of Domestic Violence. Bond was set at $5,000, 10%, and Ezell's next court date was set for Nov. 3.
