An Atmore man remained in the Escambia County Detention Center this week, charged with two counts of attempted murder, along with two unrelated crimes, after he apparently tried to drown an unidentified pregnant woman in Perdido Creek recently.
According to a press release issued Tuesday by Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mike Lambert, the incident that led to the charges occurred on July 7, below the bridge that spans the creek at Railroad Street, near Nokomis.
A passerby reportedly was crossing the bridge and saw the pregnant woman, who appeared to bleeding from her face, and a male get out of a truck that had been parked near the creek’s banks.
The witness told deputies that the male suspect, later identified as 30-year-old Daniel Ray Raybon of a Nathan Road address, then “threw the injured pregnant female in the creek, holding her head under the water in what appeared to be an attempt to drown her.”
The passerby told lawmen he shouted at the Atmore man, prompting him to release the injured woman, get into his vehicle and leave the scene. As Raybon left, the witness said, he ran his truck into the passerby’s truck and continued to flee.
The injured woman was taken to an area hospital, and law enforcement was notified. Whether she remains in the hospital, and what her condition is, were not known at Tuesday’s press deadline.
An investigation led deputies to charge Raybon with two counts of attempted murder (against both the woman and her baby). Bond was set at $250,000 on those charges.
On Monday, July 17, more charges were filed against the suspect, who now awaits bond on one count each of unlawful possession of marijuana first degree, and first-degree criminal mischief.
Lambert said Raybon, who was also the subject of a probation violation warrant, was expected to appear before a judge later Tuesday for a bond hearing on the additional charges.