Georgia · Richmond County · Crime & Courts

Boy Scout Road Assault in Augusta, GA: James Atkinson, 47, Wanted by Richmond County Deputies

Richmond County deputies are looking for James Atkinson, 47, over an aggravated assault and an aggravated battery that the sheriff’s office says were reported Saturday on Boy Scout Road in Augusta. Deputies say he may be carrying a machete and describe him as armed and dangerous.

By Kate ThompsonPublished Aug. 23, 2026, 7:53 a.m. ET

Who are Richmond County deputies looking for?

Deputies in Richmond County are looking for James Atkinson, 47, wanted in connection with an aggravated assault and an aggravated battery, WRDW/WAGT reported.

Both offenses were reported Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, on the 500 block of Boy Scout Road in Augusta.

Atkinson stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds, according to the description deputies put out. He often gets around on a yellow bicycle, the agency said.

He may have a machete on him and should be considered armed and dangerous, the sheriff’s office said.

The agency asked anyone who knows where Atkinson is to call Sgt. Joshua Evans at 706-821-1085. An on-duty investigator can be reached at 706-821-1020 or 706-821-1080.

What is aggravated assault under Georgia law?

Georgia sets out aggravated assault at O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21(a), and it reaches an assault committed in any of four ways.

The first is an assault with intent to murder, to rape or to rob. The second is an assault with a deadly weapon, or with any object, device or instrument which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to or actually does result in serious bodily injury.

The third covers an object, device or instrument which, used offensively, is likely to or actually does result in strangulation. The fourth covers discharging a firearm, without legal justification, from within a motor vehicle or immediately after exiting one, toward a person, an occupied motor vehicle or an occupied building.

The sentence range sits in the next subsection. Under § 16-5-21(b), the term is not less than one nor more than 20 years, except as provided in subsections (c) through (m).

Which of those four routes deputies have in mind is not something the sheriff’s office has said.

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How is aggravated battery different from aggravated assault?

Aggravated battery is a separate offense, defined at O.C.G.A. § 16-5-24(a). A person commits it by maliciously causing bodily harm to another in one of three ways.

Those are depriving the person of a member of his or her body, rendering a member of the body useless, or seriously disfiguring the body or a member of it.

The practical difference is what each offense is about. Aggravated assault is about the attack itself — the act, and the manner or instrument used. Aggravated battery is about the result — a serious and lasting injury to the body.

That is why a single incident can produce both. One names what was done; the other names what it left behind.

The penalty range is the same. Under § 16-5-24(b), the term is not less than one nor more than 20 years, except as provided in subsections (c) through (i).

What does it mean that James Atkinson is wanted?

Wanted is a status, not a verdict. It means an agency is looking for a person in connection with an investigation and has asked the public for help locating him.

It is not the same thing as a charge. The sheriff’s office has not said whether warrants have been issued in this case or whether Atkinson has been formally charged.

And a charge would not be a conviction. Atkinson has not been convicted of anything in connection with the Boy Scout Road incident,. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Which agency holds the incident report on the Boy Scout Road case?

The responding agency wrote the report, so the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is the custodian of it. A request goes to that agency, not to a court and not to a prosecutor.

The ordinary route is a written open records request to the sheriff’s office records custodian, naming the date and the location so the right report can be pulled.

What an agency releases while a case is still open is narrower than what it releases once the case is closed, which is why an initial incident report and the full investigative file are not the same document.

For the case itself rather than the paperwork, the sheriff’s office gave the numbers listed above.

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What other recent cases has Richmond County had?

Augusta had a fatal shooting the day before this incident was reported. A shooting on Old Waynesboro Road on Friday afternoon killed Ronald Wynn II, 21, and sent a woman to a hospital.

Days earlier, a shooting on Rushing Road killed Otis Keith Pearce, 33. David Mosley, 65, was arrested at the scene and charged with murder in that case.

In Hephzibah, a parent with a weapon was detained in a high school parking lot, and the principal told families no students or staff were hurt.

More from Richmond County.

What don’t we know yet about the Boy Scout Road incident?

What else are people asking about the Boy Scout Road case?

Who are Richmond County deputies looking for?
James Atkinson, 47. The Richmond County Sheriff's Office says he is wanted in an aggravated assault and aggravated battery case.

Where was the Boy Scout Road incident reported?
On the 500 block of Boy Scout Road in Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia. The sheriff's office says the incident was reported Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.

How has the sheriff's office described James Atkinson?
As 5 feet 10 inches tall and 120 pounds. Deputies say he often gets around on a yellow bicycle, that he may have a machete and that he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Who do you call with information about James Atkinson?
Sgt. Joshua Evans of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office at 706-821-1085. An on-duty investigator can be reached at 706-821-1020 or 706-821-1080.

Has James Atkinson been charged?
The sheriff's office has not said whether warrants have been issued or whether Atkinson has been formally charged. Being wanted by an agency is not a charge, and a charge is not a conviction.

What is aggravated assault under Georgia law?
Under O.C.G.A. 16-5-21(a), a person commits aggravated assault by assaulting with intent to murder, to rape or to rob; with a deadly weapon or with any object, device or instrument which, used offensively against a person, is likely to or actually does result in serious bodily injury; with any object, device or instrument which, used offensively, is likely to or actually does result in strangulation; or, without legal justification, by discharging a firearm from within a motor vehicle or immediately after exiting one toward a person, an occupied motor vehicle or an occupied building. Subsection (b) sets imprisonment of not less than one nor more than 20 years, except as provided in subsections (c) through (m).

What is aggravated battery under Georgia law?
Under O.C.G.A. 16-5-24(a), a person commits aggravated battery by maliciously causing bodily harm to another by depriving the person of a member of his or her body, by rendering a member of the body useless, or by seriously disfiguring the body or a member of it. Subsection (b) sets imprisonment of not less than one nor more than 20 years, except as provided in subsections (c) through (i).

Was anyone hurt in the Boy Scout Road incident?
The sheriff's office has not identified a victim and has not described any injuries.