Suspects in Alleged Assault of Producer Dave Brainard Surrender

Dustin Carl Hargrove and Nichole M. Hargrove, both 30, from Columbia, Tenn., have surrendered to police in the assault case of Nashville producer Dave Brainard.

Detective Anthony Chandler made an unannounced visit to the Hargroves' home on Tuesday (Oct. 6), during which the couple acknowledged their involvement in the incident. Dustin Carl Hargrove has been charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor assault; Nichole M. Hargrove has been charged with misdemeanor assault, according to the Tennessean. His bond has been set at $7,500, while hers has been set at $1,000.

In the early morning hours of Sept. 27, Brainard -- who has produced country artists including Brandy Clark, Jamey Johnson and Jerrod Niemann and earned a Grammy nod for his work on Clark’s 2013 record, 12 Stories -- and two female friends were crossing Demonbreun, located in downtown Nashville, in a crosswalk when a gray or charcoal four-door Nissan Infinity hit one of the women, Deborah DeLoach, and kept driving into them slowly. The car’s two occupants then got out of the vehicle and proceeded to assault Brainard and his friends, but they drove away before police arrived.

Brainard, 40, suffered a broken jaw in two places, shattered teeth and multiple lacerations. He was knocked unconscious during the assault and required facial reconstructive surgery. Four projects on which he is currently working are on hold while his jaw is wired shut for six weeks.

After the attack, DeLoach, Brainard and friends and family were spreading the word about the Hargroves' appearances in order to help police find the then-unknown attackers. The description included that the male suspect had called the female suspect "Nicki" during the attack, and that they were dressed as though they had just been at a fancy event. According to police, the couple had been in town for a wedding reception at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

It is not yet clear what sparked the altercation between Brainard, DeLoach and the Hargroves. The couple has a daughter, according to Dustin Carl Hargrove’s biography at WireMasters.

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