After hitting victim in head with an ax, SC man led a chase into the woods, sheriff says
The search for a South Carolina man who was wanted after another person was attacked with an ax has ended with an arrest, according to the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office.
William Michael Gallman, a 48-year-old Pomaria resident, was charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, jail records show.
Gallman is accused of hitting the victim in the head with an ax, and possibly stabbing them with a dagger, before running away, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday in a news release.
On Monday morning, deputies responded to a 911 call about the assault in 1200 block of U.S. 176, according to the release. That’s near Pomaria, in the area between the Broad River and Interstate 26, and near Gallman’s address, according to Newberry County court records.
Deputies learned that Gallman was armed with an ax and a dagger when he came onto the property and assaulted the victim, then ran off into nearby woods, the sheriff’s office said.
Information on the victim’s condition was not available.
Deputies used a police K-9 from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and searched on the ground and from the air, according to the release.
After a brief chase, Gallman was taken into custody, the sheriff’s office said.
No other injuries were reported.
Gallman was booked into the Newberry County Detention Center Monday, and remains behind bars after bond was denied, jail records show.
There was no word on a motive for the attack, or what — if any — relationship Gallman had with the victim prior to Monday.
Recent criminal record
Gallman was out on bond from a recent arrest when the attack happened, court records show.
On Sept. 22, 2024, Gallman was charged with three counts of third-degree assault and battery; as well as single counts of malicious injury to animals, personal property, injury (value $2,000 or less); theft of electric current, aiding or abetting and third-degree burglary, according to court records. Bond was set at $25,000 on the combined and pending charges and posted, court records show.
On Jan. 1, Gallman also was arrested, this time on a trespassing/entering premises after warning or refusing to leave on request charge, according to court records. He was found guilty at a Jan. 15 bench trial, court records show.
Familiar but different
This attack has similarities to a separate incident that recently occurred in Newberry County.
A manhunt was launched early Sunday in the county for 20-year-old Newberry resident Landon Major Howell, according to the sheriff’s office. Howell is wanted after escaping from law enforcement officers who were searching for him in the woods, the sheriff’s office said.
The manhunt began shortly after midnight Sunday when deputies responded to a 911 call about an individual, later identified as Howell, inside a closed store on Kendall Road, according to the sheriff’s office.
When deputies got to the store they learned Howell had been chased into the woods, the sheriff’s office said.
Surveillance footage from the area showed that Howell was armed with a hatchet and other tools, and he “should be considered dangerous,” the sheriff’s office said.
Howell entered an abandoned structure covered in brush and discarded some of his clothing, but a trail dissipated near a highway, leading officers to believe Howell had been picked up, according to the sheriff’s office.
No injuries were reported during the original incident involving Howell, or the search.
The sheriff’s office has not reported finding, or arresting Howell.
Anyone with information about Howell, or his location, is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 803-321-2222, CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.
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This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 1:55 PM with the headline "After hitting victim in head with an ax, SC man led a chase into the woods, sheriff says."
