(WATSON)---Two brothers have been arrested and charged in connection with an unusual case where the suspects allegedly held a man underwater until he lost consciousness and then injured the man's wife when she tried to help him, according to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office.

Livingston Sheriff's Office Dep. Perry Rushing reports that 29-year-old Chaney Lee Dawson of Baton Rouge has been charged with second degree aggravated battery, simple battery, and on a warrant on a traffic charge. He adds that 23-year-old Dillon J. Dawson of Livingston has been charged with second degree battery and simple battery.

The incident occurred during the afternoon hours of Saturday, July 19, along the Amite River near Watson. Dep. Rushing says that deputies responded to a call where a man was apparently beaten while tubing along the river with his family. An LPSO helicopter was used to locate the victim and direct emergency personnel to the rather remote area.

According to Dep. Rushing, witnesses told deputies that the victim, 37-year-old Allen Newell of Maurice, told the suspects to quit harassing his niece, who was also tubing along the river. Dep. Rushing says that the suspects then allegedly held Newell underwater until he became unconscious and that when his wife tried to help her husband, the suspects then injured her.

Based on descriptions given them, Dep. Rushing says that deputies located Chaney and Dillon Dawson downriver and arrested them. The deputy adds that Newell was taken to a local hospital where he is expected to survive the injuries.

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