On Wednesday, a preliminary charge of battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a class C felony, was filed against inmate Mark E. Dickinson, 27, Linton, who was involved in a fight with inmate Steven E. George, 33, Worthington.

Greene County Sheriff's Det. George Dallaire and Deputy Terry Wade responded to Block B on Monday after a jail officer reported the fight and called for assistance.

When the officers arrived, they found a jailer standing in a hallway with George who had blood on his face and arms.

An investigation by Det. Dallaire into the altercation is detailed in a probable cause affidavit filed in Greene Superior Court.

George told Dallaire that Dickinson had attacked him and had punched him in the face. He said he lost consciousness after Dickinson placed him in a choke hold. The Greene County Ambulance Service was contacted and came to the jail to treat George who complained of pain in his throat.

Dickinson, a trustee at the jail, had gone to Block B to deliver cleaning supplies so inmates there could clean their cells. When he got there, George was standing at the doorway.

Dickinson told Det. Dallaire there had been a verbal confrontation and then he hit George several times in the face with his fist and caused him to lose consciousness for two or three minutes. He then left the area and told a jailer to call the guards.

According to the affidavit, Dickinson gave a reason for the battery -- having to do with something that had happened years ago between George and a member of Dickinson's family. He said he had told third-shift jailers he could not be around George because there was a problem.

The affidavit states that several inmates witnessed Dickinson place George in a choke hold and punch him in the face numerous times and they saw George laying unconscious on the floor.

Charges were approved by the court Thursday morning and a warrant was ordered. Dickinson was expected to be transported from the jail to the courthouse within a couple of business days to appear in court for an initial hearing on the new charge.

At the time of the fight, Dickinson was in jail being held on $42,000 bond while awaiting a Nov. 18 trial date in a case involving the operation of a methamphetamine lab in Linton. In that case, he faces charges of dealing in methamphetamine, a class B felony; possession of methamphetamine, a class D felony; possession of chemical reagents or precursors with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine, a class D felony; maintaining a common nuisance, a class D felony; and possession of paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor.

George was in jail being held on $5,000 bond while awaiting a Nov. 24 trial date in a case involving a shoplifting incident. In that case, he faces charges of theft, a class D felony, and trespass, a class A misdemeanor.