Louisville judge raises bond in case tied to alleged father-son assault

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A judge raised the bond for a 27-year-old man charged with helping his father assault a man inside an apartment near downtown Louisville earlier this summer.

On Thursday, a judge raised Reginald Offutt Jr.'s bond to $50,000 during his arraignment and appointed a public defender on his behalf. The alleged assault happened July 27, when Reginald Offutt, 67, and his son, Offutt Jr., allegedly assaulted and shot the 25-year-old victim inside his apartment near downtown Louisville.

The victim survived the shooting and was driven to Jewish Hospital by his girlfriend. He told police it happened at an apartment on South 8th Street near West Muhammad Ali Boulevard.

Offutt was arrested Aug. 17 and charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. His son is charged with second-degree assault after he allegedly pulled him inside the doorway and repeatedly hit him in the head with a "blunt object" until the object broke.

Offutt then walked into another room, returned with a gun, aimed at the victim and fired several times.

Court documents indicate the victim's girlfriend has two children with Offutt, and the victim showed up the apartment that day to pick up one of the kids because there's a history of domestic violence between Offutt and the woman.

There's also history of violence between the father and son. In May 2025, police responded to the same apartment on South 8th Street in response to multiple calls about an altercation between Offutt and Offutt Jr. According go Offutt Jr.'s arrest citation, police said Offutt told them he woke up at 8 a.m. to find his son asleep on the living room couch "heavily intoxicated." According to police, Offutt confronted his son about being intoxicated and also asked him where his pet lizard was.

Police said Offutt Jr. then "became irate and started yelling at listed victim," and the men began fighting. That day, Offutt Jr. was charged with fourth-degree assault.

For the July shooting, Offutt was arraigned Aug. 13 and given a $100,000 bond. Offutt Jr. has another hearing scheduled for Sept. 26.

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