Five days after being attacked at Jake’s Landing, David Branham is recovering, but he wants answers.
“I feel way fortunate, they could have killed me. You can’t hit folks in the head like that,” Branham said.
He and his wife were trying to bring their boat in Sunday evening when Branham asked another boater to turn his lights off so he could see better. Instead, multiple attacked him in a spot where he’s felt safe for years.
“The lake’s a fun time for my family and I, it’s the first time I’ve ever had anything like this happen in all those years,” Branham said. “I just feel like these guys, as easily as he would do that to me, he’d do that to somebody else. He needs to be caught and his friends that were with him, there’s one that was with him that knows it wasn’t right for what he’s done.”
Branham said he blacked out most of the incident, but a man and woman helped make sure he was OK. Once he realized the extent of his injuries, he went to the hospital where deputies were called to meet him. By that point, both those responsible for the attack and the witnesses had left the dock.
“We continue to be open to any information that’s out there, but at this point, we just don’t have a lot to go on,” said Capt. Adam Myrick, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department’s public information officer. “So if someone saw something, heard something, that’s who we want to hear from, but we especially want to hear from those two good Samaritans that stepped forward and helped Mr. Branham.”
Branham is so confident someone knows something, his family and friends are offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
“Just be a man and turn yourself in,” Branham said. “They’re going to catch you.”
Anyone with information is asked to leave an anonymous tip through Crimestoppers at 888-Crime-SC.