NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A man was arrested after attacking a woman's vehicle with a hammer in a parking lot by Percy Priest Lake Park early Thursday morning.
Daniel A. Rutledge, 27, has been charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, felony vandalism between $1,000 - $2,500, driving under the influence and implied consent violation.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Metro Nashville Police Department, the incident began when Rutledge knocked on the victim's car window, asking her to turn off her headlights.
The victim then turned her headlights off for a few minutes while the suspect returned to his vehicle. When the victim turned her headlights back on, Rutledge became upset and walked over to the victim's vehicle while holding a hammer. Rutledge was slurring his words while yelling at the victim and staggering around on his feet, according to the affidavit.
Rutledge began hitting the victim's car multiple times with the hammer, busting the windshield, two headlights and causing additional damage to the body of the vehicle before leaving the scene. A witness to this incident followed Rutledge to the Stewartwood Plaza shopping center in the 500 block of Stewarts Ferry Pike.
The witness called police with information about the suspect's location, and responding officers made contact with Rutledge as he was getting out of his vehicle on the driver's side. Rutledge was reportedly slurring his words while talking with investigators and was "very unsteady on his feet."
Rutledge refused to sign an implied consent form and refused to partake in a field sobriety test. He was taken into custody without additional incident.
Rutledge is currently detained on a total of $18,000 in bonds for all four charges.
