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Victim in Raleigh bar assault still hospitalized

Charles Zachary Poll, 25, is charged with with assault inflicting serious injury for an attack against Evan Lawrence, 23, outside a Raleigh bar.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — The father of a man who suffered serious head injuries after being assaulted outside a Raleigh bar last week says his son remains in critical but stable condition at Rex Hospital.

“He’s still alive today, and one more day is a day closer to him pulling out of this and going on with the rest of his life,” Ben Lawrence said Tuesday.

Raleigh police say Evan Benjamin Lawrence, 23, was involved in an altercation early Thursday morning outside the Jackpot Bar on Hillsborough Street.

Charles Zachary Poll, 25, of 816 S. Bloodworth St. in Raleigh, was arrested Monday and charged with assault inflicting serious injury.

Ben Lawrence said that, based on conversations he had with police and witnesses, his son was finishing a cigarette outside the bar and flicked the butt, accidentally hitting Poll in the leg.

Evan Lawrence was picked up and slammed to the ground, his head hitting the concrete, Ben Lawrence said. With the help of friends, his son was able to get up and go home; friends later took him to Rex Hospital for treatment.

“The guy slammed my boy on his head,” Ben Lawrence said. “I don’t believe anyone could imagine the consequences of his actions and still do that.”

Attending their son’s first court appearance Tuesday, Poll’s parents said there are other sides to the story that haven’t been told, but they declined to comment further.

Poll was in the Wake County jail Tuesday afternoon under a $7,500 bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 26.

“I’d like to see the criminal justice system come through in a strong, fair way, and I think in the end it will help this young man,” Ben Lawrence said. “I don’t believe he intended to kill my son, but what he did was way beyond just some outside-a-bar tussle.”

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