MOULTRIE, Ga. — A Moultrie man accused of hitting his opponent in the head with a hammer is in jail, but the victim, who is wanted by law enforcement, disappeared after the assault despite his injuries.

Moultrie police were dispatched at about 3 a.m. Saturday to 600 12th Ave. S.E.  There, witnesses told them that Tony Sherrod Hayes and Everett Lewis Smith got into a confrontation.

“There was an argument between him and Everett Smith III at that residence,” Moultrie Police Department Sgt. Raul Leal said. “It escalated to the point where he got a hammer and hit him (Smith) upside the head with it.”

Smith left before police arrived, but it was obvious he was injured, Leal said.

“By the crime scene and talking with witnesses I know he was bleeding profusely,” Leal said. “He had a lot of bleeding around the head. He left, so I wasn’t able to get his story.”

There is an active warrant for Smith’s arrest on a probation violation charge, police said.

“That’s why he didn’t wait,” Leal said. “He just left.”

Leal said that officers patrolled the area trying to find the injured man. Because he was not checked by medical personnel police do not  know the extent of his injuries.

Police charged Hayes, 43, with aggravated assault and cruelty to children. Leal said that a 14-year-old boy was at the residence and witnessed the violence as did his mother.