An Augusta man accused of aggravated assault after a sheriff’s deputy was seriously injured when he was dragged by the man’s vehicle was denied bond Monday, May 23.
Kaylon Smith, 31, has been held in jail without bond since his Sept. 2, 2020, arrest. He has pleaded not guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to charges of trafficking cocaine and aggravated assault on an officer.
Although Smith has been jailed for a lengthy period, Judge John Flythe said he still believes Smith is not entitled to bond. When arrested in September 2020, he was free on bond in connection with a 2018 drug case, which is still pending.
On Sept. 2, 2020, narcotics agents were watching Smith after he made a trip to Atlanta. They believed he might have illegal drugs in his vehicle, and they called in a deputy, Keith Inman, in a marked vehicle to stop Smith for a traffic violation.
Inman pulled Smith over at a gas station on Wrightsboro Road. Another officer with a drug dog was waiting at the site and the dog alerted on Smith’s vehicle, Assistant District Attorney Kyle Davis said Monday during Smith’s bond hearing.
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Inman opened Smith’s driver’s side door and then Smith allegedly hit the accelerator, catching Inman between the door and the body of the vehicle. Inman was dragged a short distance and then he was knocked loose when Smith nearly hit a pole. Inman suffered serious injuries, Davis said. Smith fled the scene but wrecked his vehicle a short time later on Barton Chapel Road. He fled on foot but was arrested by officers who also found a backpack, an empty gallon-size plastic bag and cocaine on the ground, Davis said.
Smith was previously denied bond in November 2020 and in September 2021.
Defense attorney Keith Johnson asked the judge to reconsider bond, in light of the release of a video that shows what happened at the gas station was more of obstruction by fleeing an arrest than aggravated assault. Smith is a native of Augusta who owned his own business and was the primary parent of a child before his arrest, Johnson said.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
