Fayette Bowling Center owner Steve Brown is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of "any person involved" in an assault and robbery of a bowling center employee about a year ago.

Brown said he has the support of the Fayetteville Police Department in offering the reward, since the case has not yet been solved. An arrest was made in College Park following the October 1997 incident, but the suspect was not indicted by the Fayette Grand Jury, Brown said.

"There's somebody out there who knows what happened," Brown said, "and can produce evidence, or tell the police where they can get it, to get someone arrested and convicted for this vicious crime."

He said the employee suffered extensive injuries and was robbed of a large amount of cash that was to have been a bank deposit. The robbery occurred in broad daylight in early afternoon, Brown said, on the bowling center parking lot.

He said he felt that the perpetrators could be persons familiar with the bowling business, or even with Fayette Bowling Center itself.

"I won't rest until someone is caught and convicted," he said. He has placed fliers about the reward in all local bowling establishments, he added. Information may be called in to Fayetteville Police at 770-460-4247.

STATE COURT

October criminal trial week in Fayette State Court turned into a fairly light load, court officials noted, because most of the cases set for trial entered pleas.

In the one finished trial, Danny Bray was convicted of simple battery in an assault on a female acquaintance in May of this year, but sentencing information is not yet available.

The trial of Eric Bolton for simple battery was not completed but resulted in a directed verdict of innocent. David Smith is scheduled for jury trail the week of Nov. 16 for DUI, driving a vehicle with defective equipment, and other charges.