Man Arrested for Assaulting Teen Driver Until He Lost Consciousness
On Wednesday, February 28, a Gwynnett County Police officer assigned to the North Precinct responded to an assault call on Buford Dam Road and Old Shadburn Ferry Road.
The officer met with an 18-year-old man who wanted to report being assaulted by another motorist. The teen said the incident began on Peachtree Industrial Blvd. and R.H. Smith Blvd. According to the teen, he and the driver of a blue pickup truck exchanged hand gestures, and then the driver of the truck began to follow him. When the teen turned onto Little Mill Road, and then onto Buford Dam Road, the suspect followed. According to the victim, the suspect tried running him off the road.
The teen and his 15-year-old sister, seated in the front seat, pulled into a private driveway on Buford Dam Road near Marina Way. The teen reported that the man pulled in behind him, exited his vehicle, and then began to punch him repeatedly in the face through the window. The man told him that he would sexually assault his “girlfriend”, who was actually the driver’s sister, in the passenger seat. The suspect continued to punch him even as he exited the vehicle. Eventually, the victim lost consciousness. When he awoke, he called the police to report the incident.
Over the next few days, the North Precinct Community Response Team followed up on the case. Utilizing FLOCK, they were able to track down the owner of the blue truck. The officers made contact with the suspect at his home in Flowery Branch on March 3.
57-year-old Duane Andrew Sudderth of Flowery Branch was arrested and booked into the Gwinnett County Jail. He was charged with Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Assault (two counts), Terroristic Threats, Cruelty to Children 1st Degree, Cruelty to Children 3rd Degree, Entering Auto, and Aggressive Driving. He is currently being held without bond.
