(KINDERHOOK TOWNSHIP) - A Kinderhook Township man has been arraigned following an incident early Monday morning over money.
Branch County District Court documents say that 64 year old Jeffrey Badgley was arraigned Tuesday on a charge of felony aggravated assault.
The Branch County Sheriff's Office responded to the 300 block of East Southern Road at 12:30 AM Monday for a reported assault. When they arrived deputies found 27 year old Eduardo Castro-Lugo suffering from a critical head injury.
Lugo was initially taken to Insight Hospital & Medical Center in Coldwater and then transferred to a Kalamazoo Hospital where he had surgery for severe cerebral hemorrhaging. He is in critical condition.
Badgley was questioned by the deputies and initially told them he only struck Lugo with his fists. He later admitted that he used a baseball bat, striking Lugo several times.
Deputies executed a search warrant at Badgley's home in the 800 block of Huss Lee Lane, where they found a bloody baseball bat that was hidden in a closet in the basement.
Badgley is being held in the Branch County Jail with bond set at $500,000. He is scheduled to have a probable cause hearing on April 16 and a preliminary examination on April 23.