Police: Man Assaults Girl with Umbrella & Knife

Demetrius Adrian Tanner, 39, was arrested on Branch Street Wednesday afternoon for striking a 13-year-old girl with an umbrella and putting a knife to her throat, according to a story in the Athens Banner Herald. 

The girl lives in the Branch Street home with Tanner and her guardian, the story says. The teenager and Tanner began arguing when he asked her for some batteries and she responded that she had none.

Things escalated: Tanner grabbed a steak knife and held it to her throat, saying he would kill her, the story says. He then began hitting her with the knife blade. She called 911. Her guardian was in the bathroom, dying her hair, when the fight was going on, and didn't see what happened.

After she called police, the girl ran out of the house, the story says, with Tanner chasing her and hitting her with an umbrella. 

Tanner was charged under the state Family Violence Act with aggravated assault. His arrest record is long, according to the story, and he was on probation at the time of the incident.