A North Carolina man has been charged with aggravated battery after punching a man in the parking lot of Route 76 Road House Bar and Grill on Highway 76 in Clayton.

On April 6, deputies with the Rabun County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a bar fight just after midnight.

When deputies and EMS arrived, they spoke to an injured 40-year-old Clayton resident, Kenneth Lunn who appeared to be intoxicated.

While being treated for his injuries, EMS staff asked Lunn to leave the ambulance due to his unruly behavior.

The owner of the business told deputies that earlier in the night, Lunn displayed ‘inappropriate’ conduct while on the dance floor, and a bar employee had escorted Lunn out of the building.

According to officials, police were called after 37-year-old Stephen Higbee of Franklin, North Carolina assaulted Lunn.

Higbee then left the scene and was pulled over by Clayton police. He was arrested on unrelated traffic offenses.

A member of Lunn’s family contacted the sheriff’s office the morning after the assault and claimed Lunn’s jaw was broken on both sides.

In a follow-up investigation by RCSO Investigators, it was discovered that Higbee was the man who attacked Lunn in the bar parking lot.

Higbee turned himself in to the Rabun County Detention center and was charged with aggravated battery.