BLADEN COUNTY, N.C. (WWAY) – A murder suspect and his alleged victim wound up in the same jail cell this week in Bladen County. Last February, 27-year-old Eric Bennett was charged with attempted murder. On Wednesday, one of his alleged victims, 39-year-old, Shawn Melvin, was arrested for failure to appear in court, failure to pay child support and driving with a revoked license.

Melvin was placed in the same jail cell with Bennett by a jailer who was not aware of their history. The jailer said that when he put Melvin in the cell, he immediately attacked Bennett who was later taken to the hospital and treated for a laceration on his head.

Bladen County Sheriff’s spokesman Capt. Rodney Hester:

“Elizabethtown Police Department investigated the original case back in February. Mr. Melvin was asked if he had anyone in the jail that he would not want to be in the same cell with, and he answered no to that question.”

Melvin was charged with assault and later bonded out of jail.