Florence man accused of punching disabled person, swinging baseball bat and knife in separate incidents

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — A 24-year-old man is facing assault charges after separate incidents where he allegedly entered someone’s home and punched them in the face and swung a knife and a baseball bat at another person, according to arrest warrants obtained by News13.

Davon Lamontaye Cokley of Florence was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, third-degree assault and battery, trespassing and second-degree burglary. He was booked into the Florence County Detention Center on Wednesday.

In a July 9 incident, Cokley allegedly illegally entered a mentally disabled man’s apartment and punched him in the face, an arrest warrant shows. Several people witnessed the punch, including a “non-biased” witness that corroborated the story. The victim had blood on his lips and teeth from the punch.

Then, on Monday, Florence police responded to the 1500 block of S. Irby Street, according to an arrest warrant. When they arrived, the victim told them they had been staying in the same camp as Cokley when Cokley was asked to leave.

As Cokley started to leave, the victim noticed he’d taken his knife. When Cokley was questioned about it, he allegedly swung it at the man before leaving the camp, the warrant shows. After Cokley left, the victim noticed he’d left his baseball bat and returned it to Cokley.

The two then got into an argument, and Cokley swung the bat at the victim, hitting him in his right arm, back and shoulder, according to the warrant. The victim received medical attention for his injuries.

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Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here .

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