Bartlesville police: Man attacks church ministry director

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - A Bartlesville man is behind bars after he allegedly assaulted a church employee.

Shawn Kelly Kennedy, 33, now faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon, simple assault and damage to public property.

According to the affidavit, shortly after 11 a.m. Friday, police were sent to the Family Life Center at 405 S. Cherokee Ave. where a man was reportedly assaulting a pastor.

Police arriving to the scene found Kennedy locked in an office and office “torn up and had busted objects all over the floor.”

The victim, named as the director of the Family Life Center, said he was online trying to help Kennedy get help from the Ray of Hope when Kennedy became “very angry, knocking stuff off the desk” and attacked the director, scratching his face.

Kennedy reportedly took a large ceramic lamp and threw it at the director, missing his head and shattering it on a book shelf.

Once in custody, Kennedy is reported to have told police the director kept harassing him. Asked why he didn't leave the office, Kennedy said “I just decided to kick his (expletive).”

During his arraignment Monday, the judge set his bond to $50,000 with a condition of no contact with the alleged victim.

Kennedy is due back in court on May 18.