Man charged in inmate beating

A Dade City man was charged with two battery counts Monday after attacking a fellow inmate at the Hernando County Jail with a bag filled with bars of soap, deputies said.

Authorities were called to the jail shortly after 3 p.m., where they encountered the victim, who had a severely swollen left eye, according to an arrest report.

The victim said Russell Jerome Pye had punched him with a closed fist and returned later to their cell with a laundry bag filled with bars of soap and struck him again along the left side of his face, deputies said.

Pye, 27, was charged with battery and aggravated battery and was issued a $10,000 bond.

Pye had been at the jail since his arrest Dec. 17, 2009, on multiple charges, including armed robbery and grand theft, according to jail records.