Westerville, Ohio – Police say a road rage incident ended with a man being beaten with a baseball bat outside a Westerville Starbucks.
According to a Westerville police report, it all started around 2:30 p.m. on Polaris Parkway when a car driven by the 42-year-old alleged victim cut off a vehicle in which 25-year-old Lonnie Wellman was a passenger.
When both cars pulled up to a traffic light at North State Street and Ruckmoor Drive, the victim told police that Wellman got out of the vehicle and punched him in the face while he was sitting in his car.
The driver of Wellman’s car then pulled into a nearby Starbucks parking lot.
That’s when the alleged victim told police he followed the pair and tried to stop them from leaving so that he could contact Westerville Police. Police say that prompted Wellman to get back out of the vehicle and start hitting the victim with a baseball bat.
The victim then jumped on the hood of Wellman’s car, at which point the driver started driving to the nearby Giant Eagle parking lot. Police said the victim then got off the hood of the car and he and Wellman continued to wrestle on the ground.
The suspect and alleged victim were being broken up by witnesses when police arrived.
According to court records, Wellman asked the victim how much money he could pay to settle the issue, as he didn’t want to go to jail on a warrant. Wellman said the victim demanded $200, but he in turn offered $40.
Court records show Wellman was wanted on a misdemeanor traffic warrant from Madison County. The pickup radius for the warrant only extended to counties bordering Madison County. Delaware County does not border Madison County.
Wellman has prior convictions for assault, domestic violence threats, and OVI, according to court records.
Police say the victim was evaluated by medics, but was not taken to the hospital.
Wellman was arrested and charged with felonious assault. He was taken to the Delaware County Jail where he is being held on a $60,000 bond.