Bragg soldier arrested in beating of Ohio homeless man

Spec. Travis D. Condor, 25, of 2843 Normandy Drive 4 at Fort Bragg, was arrested Wednesday, said Debbie Tanna, a spokeswoman for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. Condor is being held in the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond while awaiting extradition to Ohio on charges of felonious assault.

Pvt. Riley Feller, 24, who was stationed at Fort Bragg until being transferred to Fort Knox in February 2009, was arrested in Kentucky and is being transferred to Ohio.

Michael Hesson, a 24-year-old civilian from the Cincinnati area, is also charged in the beating. He was the first to be arrested and was released on bond Tuesday.

Cincinnati police initially said a fourth suspect was believed to be stationed at Fort Bragg, but Detective Kristen Shircliff said Wednesday that authorities were having trouble locating him and that he might not be stationed there.

Cincinnati police said that Condor, Feller, Hesson and the fourth man had been drinking on April 10 when one of them suggested that they go out and "kick somebody's butt." They then decided to target a homeless person they didn't know, police said.

The homeless man, John Johnson, had been sleeping at his encampment under a bridge when the men beat him with a baseball bat and pipe and cursed at him, police said. Johnson, 52, suffered a fractured cheekbone and had cuts and bruises over his body.

"They kept calling me a bum and telling me to get a job," Johnson said Tuesday.

Condor, Feller and the fourth man were apparently in town for the weekend and got together with Hesson and other friends before the beating, police said.

Condor, a native of Savannah, Ga., is assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne, military officials said. Feller, of Union, Ky., is assigned to the 16th Calvary Regiment at Fort Knox.

The military had already initiated discharge proceedings against Feller. Court records show he was charged with misdemeanor assault in Cincinnati last May and failure to show up in court last July.

Military officials said there was no record of any disciplinary action involving Condor.

Condor returned from Iraq last November after serving what was his first deployment with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne, military officials said. Feller served a year in Iraq while he was with the 82nd Airborne, returning to the United States in July 2008.