A witness described lawyer Joshua Robinson chasing David Lee Gump II along the 1500 block of Lee Street, hitting him in the head, back and upper body at about 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Gump, 35, of South Charleston, was arrested and charged with battery and burglary, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. He was released on a $2,000 surety bond. 

Gump, who spoke with the Gazette at his house prior to his arrest on Thursday, said he didn't break in to Robinson's house. He said he was knocking on the door and standing on Robinson's porch, trying to confront him about a $1,100 check that he said belongs to him.

"All the sudden he comes busting out of the house with no shirt on and a baseball bat," Gump said. "I knocked on the door and he comes out just like a madman."

Robinson tells a different story.

He told police that he and his wife heard banging on their door and went downstairs to find Gump standing inside their house with broken glass from the door on the floor.

The two started fighting inside the house, said Charleston Police Sgt. Eric Hodges. Gump struck Robinson with his fists and there was a bruise on Robinson's chest, according to the complaint.

 "[Robinson] grabs a baseball bat in the corner and fights him off and out of the house," Hodges said.

Once outside the house Robinson prevented Gump from getting in his car, which was blocking his driveway, and leaving, according to the complaint.

There was broken glass in the interior of the foyer and other evidence of forced entry, according to the complaint.

The entire incident remains under investigation, Charleston Police Chief Brent Webster said late Thursday.

A neighbor of Robinson's, who declined to give his name, said he saw Gump standing in the street when Robinson yelled curses at him and struck him with the baseball bat.

"First he came out and hit him and knocked him down," the neighbor said. "Then [Gump] got up and said something else and then the other guy just started beating the hell out of him."

Robinson kept hitting Gump as he tried to get away, the neighbor said.

"[Robinson] was beating the hell out of him all the way down the street, saying, 'He broke into my house,'" the neighbor said. "I called the police."

The neighbor said Gump didn't attack Robinson.

"There was blood gushing out of [Gump] when [Robinson] left," the neighbor said.

Gump said he was taken first to Saint Francis Medical Center, then transferred to Charleston Area Medical Center because of the broken bones around his eye. He was released Thursday, he said.

Gump said he hired Robinson as his lawyer when his grandfather became too sick to handle their finances. He said Robinson was referred to him by some friends.

Gump's aunt, Sandy Graziano, who owns Graziano's Pizza on Capitol Street with her husband, said she told Gump not to trust Robinson.

"He says he'll do it for 5 percent. Well, 5 percent of what?" Graziano said. "He tells [Gump] that he and his wife are having trouble and asks if he could borrow money from him. ... I was leery.

"I told [Gump], no lawyer tells their client their personal problem and then asks them to give him money. That's just not professional."

After Gump's grandfather died Nov. 20, Robinson was handling the estate, Gump said.

After Gump was in an accident in his grandfather's car, he received a check from an insurance company for $1,100. Robinson took the check and was supposed to deposit it into an account but instead cashed it, Gump alleged.

Gump said he learned about the check from the bank on Wednesday and decided to fire Robinson. Gump said he went to Robinson's house, where he has his law office, to retrieve papers and lockboxes belonging to his grandfather.

Graziano said she's concerned that Gump doesn't know how much money his grandfather had and how much Robinson had access to.

Robinson said the police report of the incident is accurate. He said his house was broken in to again Wednesday evening and that lockboxes, similar to the ones Gump had, were stolen from his house.

"I had made an arrangement to return the materials but he was very impatient and showed up in my home," Robinson said. "I think the items [the robber] thought they were getting was his stuff, which I still have. I am in a dilemma on how to get it back to him."

Reach Gary Harki at gha...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5163.