A man accused of intentionally striking a bicyclist with his car is now in jail.

Robert Copeland Bishop, 51, is currently charged with aggravated assault, felony hit-and-run, failure to report an accident and failure to keep a safe distance while passing.

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Bishop is a resident of Senoia and turned himself in through his lawyer, according to Cpl. Chris McEntyre with the Georgia State Patrol.

McEntyre said Bishop allegedly struck a cyclist with his car Wednesday evening. Witnesses reported the driver of red Honda Fit intentionally drove toward cyclist Phillip Miles, striking him with the driver’s side mirror which sent Miles falling to the ground.

The driver of the car then fled the scene, but the broken mirror stayed behind. Miles was transported to Atlanta Medical Center to be treated for his injuries and was later released.

On Friday afternoon, McEntyre arrested Bishop at his home and confirmed the damage of the car matched exactly with the mirror left at the scene, McEntyre said.

This is not Bishop’s first run-in with the law. In 1987, he was convicted of malice murder after a spring gun, constructed by Bishop, shot an acquaintance who was entering his trailer.

The victim, James Freeman, was hit by either a ricocheting bullet fragment or a piece of flying metal and later died from a blood clot following surgery. Bishop was sentenced to life in prison and was released on parole in October 2000.

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Clay Neely: clay@newnan.com, @clayneely