A former Cleveland County Sheriff's deputy who was initially charged with simple assault recently had his charges upgraded to a felony, according to Shelby Police.

Cole Daniel Johns, 28, was first charged with assault following an incident on Oct. 18, in uptown Shelby. He was terminated from his position with the Sheriff's Office two days later, according to Sheriff Alan Norman.

Shelby Police officers responded to a call for service around 11 p.m. just outside of Dragonfly Wine Market on Warren Street after someone reported that Johns was kicking a man in the face.

According to the arrest warrant, Johns assaulted Jordan Michael Lynch, 40, and caused serious injuries to his head, including "a closed fracture of the orbital floor on the left side, closed fracture of the nasal bone, closed

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