Shirley Lasseter's Grandchildren Witnessed Oct. 5 Incident, Crime Report Says

 John Fanning, jailed without bond since a domestic dispute on Friday (Oct. 5) in Dacula that involved his estranged family, beat his wife with a table and table leg within view of their children, according to a Gwinnett Sheriff's incident report.

John Fanning, son of former Gwinnett commissioner Shirley Lasseter, fled to a nearby wooded area after the incident and was located by Gwinnett Sheriff's SWAT officers via an electronic tracking device, the report says.

The report says the incident occured between 11 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, and 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 5.

John Fanning's three children "watched John L. Fanning beat their mother with the wooden table and legs of table, causing visible bruising and lacerations of her forearms, legs and back," according to a Gwinnett Sheriff's affidavit.

John Fanning also tried to prevent two of their children from making a 911 call during the incident, the affidavit says.

When officers responded on Oct. 5, they eventually located John Fanning "lying underneath brush and leaves" in a wooded area near the Bold Springs Road home.

John Fanning is estranged from his wife, Lesley Lynn Fanning. Custody of the children still is part of a separate legal proceeding.

, a report says. He told a judge that he needed a court-appointed attorney because he can't afford one on his own.

Charges include aggravated assault, cruelty to children (third degree) and interfering with a call for emergency assistance.

John Fanning and his wife also face charges from a domestic incident that occured in Dacula in January.

John Fanning and his mother, who resigned her Gwinnett post in May, also face federal prison sentences as a result of bribery charges from a 2011 FBI sting operation.

See also:

Gwinnett Bribery Case: Fanning, Cain Sentenced to 57 Months Each