Man claims son of court official assaulted him, but he ended up in handcuffs

STANLY COUNTY, N.C. — A Stanly County man claims the son of a court official assaulted him in his own home -- but he is the one who ended up in handcuffs.

Ryan McLain spoke with Eyewitness News as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations about Daylan Honeycutt, and his mother Susan Honeycutt.

Susan Honeycutt was the trial court coordinator for the four district judges in Stanly County. Honeycutt is on leave and under investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation.

Between 2005 and 2009, her 25-year-old son, Daylan Honeycutt, has been involved in 11 different court cases, all of which have been dismissed or reduced to lesser charges.

Daylan is currently facing two pending cases, for drug trafficking and assault, and Ryan McLain tells Channel 9 he believes Honeycutt should also face charges for an incident that allegedly took place at his Albemarle home on June 6.

McLain claims on that day, someone contacted him to tell him a man was staying with his estranged wife, Marci, and their young daughter at McLain's house on Saint Martin Road.

McLain said he went to the house and found Daylan Honeycutt inside.

"Daylan was there, I asked him to leave, he wouldn't leave. I called the Sheriff's Office," said McLain.

In the 911 call, obtained by Channel 9, McLain told the dispatcher there was a man trespassing at his home who refused to leave. McLain claimed after he hung up, Daylan attacked him.

"When I turned my back, he grabbed a mason jar and hit me in the face with it...he threw me to the ground, started choking me, to where I couldn't breathe. I was starting to lose consciousness," McLain said.

McLain's wife Marci called 911, and McLain claimed that's when he feared for his life, and grabbed his gun to protect himself.

McLain said Daylan then turned to Marci and began screaming at her to call his mother, Susan.

The exchange was also captured on the 911 call.

"Call my mom...call her now!" can be heard in the background.

While still on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, Marci can be heard calling Susan on Daylan's cell phone.

"Hi, it's Marci...uh, Daylan needed me to call you because something has happened," Marci said.

But when Stanly County Sheriff's deputies arrived, McLain was the one who ended up in the back of a cruiser, later charged with assault and trespassing at his own home.

McLain claimed he watched Susan Honeycutt arrive just moments later, chatting with the sheriff's deputies in the front yard.

Despite the visible injuries to McLain, Daylan has not faced any charges.

"I went to the magistrate's office the next day and tried to press charges. He got real ugly with me and told me to get out, that I was not to press charges," McLain said.

The magistrate told Eyewitness News he has no recollection of that incident and doesn't believe he has ever handled a case involving Daylan Honeycutt.

McLain faces his own court date in October, and all he wants, he said, is for justice to be served.

"I see someone that continually gets into trouble, and then gets out of trouble, through the loopholes, or however you want to say it," McLain said.

Eyewitness News has continued to try to contact Daylan and Susan Honeycutt for their explanation of the case, with no success.

Channel 9 also requested an interview with Stanly County District Attorney Reece Saunders, to ask specific questions about why Daylan Honeycutt was never charged. Saunders declined an interview, saying he can't comment on pending cases.

WSOC