RICHFIELD — A Richfield man is behind bars after authorities say he hit his mother in the head, shoved her out of her wheelchair and down the steps behind her home.
James Michael Beam, 53, was charged with assault on a handicapped person and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is in the Rowan County jail under a $10,000 secured bond.
According to a report by the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, Rowan EMS and the Sheriff’s Office responded to the home of Beam’s mother, Martha, at 195 Richfield Road around 10:20 p.m. Thursday.
When they arrived, the wheelchair was still overturned at the top of the steps. First responders detained James Beam because he was “very belligerent and combative,” the report said.
Martha Beam was transported to Rowan Regional Medical Center for unknown injuries and James Beam was arrested. Martha Beam’s condition was not immediately available.