A Lyons man is in jail, accused of battery by means of a deadly weapon, after deputies responded when the hospital reported a pregnant woman was being treated for injuries received when she and another man were hit with a metal pipe during an altercation.

Erick Dwayne Steele, 35, Lyons, was arrested by Detective Sgt. Shawn Cullison of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department last Friday morning, December 8.

Around 4:16 a.m. last Friday, Greene County General Hospital notified the sheriff’s department they were treating a woman who was 15 weeks pregnant and had a possible broken arm. They advised the woman and a male friend were allegedly hit with a pipe by Erick Steele.

Det. Sgt. Cullison responded and first met with GCSD Deputy Devan Goad who was already there. Cullison was familiar with the woman and knew she and Steele were in a relationship and lived together in Lyons.

When Cullison met with the woman, she said they had gotten into an argument because she wasn’t feeling well. She said he got mad and started throwing things, breaking a television and a mirror, and hit her on the side of her face. She said she picked up Steele’s phone and used it to call a friend to pick her up. When her friend knocked on the door, she opened it and told him they needed to leave.

As she was going out the door, Steele was right after her. The woman alleged Steele had a metal pipe, that he carries in his pants, and started hitting her friend, knocking him to the ground. She told Cullison that when she tried to get Steele to stop hitting her friend, Steele hit her arm with the pipe.

Det. Sgt. Cullison reported her left wrist was red and swollen and possibly broken. She had redness to both sides of her face and swelling on one side.

When Cullison and Goad later talked to the friend at his home, he said he got the call, went to pick the woman up but as she came out, Steele also came out with a metal pipe that looked like a police baton. He said Steele started hitting him and he fell. He didn’t get a chance to hit Steele back. He left with the woman and took her to the hospital.

Det. Sgt. Cullison reported the friend had a busted lip, redness to a leg and an arm and he had two fingers taped together, saying he thought one finger was dislocated.

When the detective and deputy went to Steele’s residence, he wasn’t home but they did find part of a metal collapsible baton on the sidewalk.

The two went on patrol around Lyons, along with Deputy James Carpenter, and located Steele’s truck at some apartments on Walnut Street. Deputy Goad noticed the other part of the baton was lying in the driver’s seat of Steele’s truck. Deputy Carpenter then found Steele walking back toward his truck and took him into custody.

Steele appeared to be intoxicated. Det. Sgt. Cullison reported Steele later admitted he was high and had been using methamphetamine for four days straight. Steele allegedly said he hit the phone out of the woman’s hands but did not harm her. He said her male friend showed up, threatened him and tried to forcibly enter the door. He allegedly admitted he went out the door after the woman but was not going to hurt her, but when the friend started coming in, he pulled a billy club out of his back pocket and started beating the friend with it. He allegedly admitted that part of the club was in the front seat of his truck and he agreed to let a deputy get it out of his truck.

Det. Sgt. Cullison reported Steele did not have any injuries.

Steele was booked into the Greene County Jail at 8 a.m. with bond set at $20,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed.

He’s facing charges of:

Two counts of battery by means of a deadly weapon, both as a Level 5 felony, and
Battery resulting in bodily injury to a pregnant woman, a level 5 felony.

As of late Friday, Steele had not posted bond and was still in jail.