Local

Man says teens beat him with ladder, stole swords from home

GASTONIA, N.C. — A Gastonia man showed Channel 9 the 17 stitches in his head after he said two teenagers forced their way into his home and beat him with a ladder.
 
He says they took money, his phone and swords he collects.
 
Police arrested one suspect, and are still searching for the other.
                               
He didn't want to show his face, but the man showed Channel 9 the stepladder he said Joshua Bratton and another teen used to beat him in his own home.
 
"I was fighting for my life," the man said.
 
He said he answered a knock at the door of his Gastonia home a week ago, and he said Bratton, who is 18, pushed his way inside and a juvenile was right behind him.
     
He said they wanted money.
 
"Once was beating me with the ladder the other was just, (throws a punch) hitting me," he said.
    
He said Bratton grabbed a decorative sword he kept in his home.
 
"That's where they had the sword bending up against me acting like they were going to stab me," the man said.
     
He told me they took about $100, his swords, his phone, and car keys, then took off.

He said he lay on the floor unconscious for about two hours before he was finally able to call for help.
 
Police are still looking for the juvenile.
 
They arrested Bratton over the weekend.

He was already out on bond on a larceny charge when he was arrested in this case.
     
He briefly told the judge about his interaction with his accuser.
 
"He was never touched with the sword, nor was he going to be," Bratton said.
 
The judge doubled his bond to a million dollars.