BATON ROUGE - Deputies arrested a man for attempted murder Monday after reports say he violently beat another man with a board.

According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a hospital Mar. 3 in reference to a batttery that reportedly occurred on Byron Street. There, the victim told deputies he got into an argument with 61-year-old Kenneth Sheppard of Baton Rouge over a dryer. Deputies say the victim was having difficulty regaining his memory after the incident.

Officers found a witness who said the two men had agreed to a fight. The witness said Sheppard knocked the victim to the ground and he was unable to get back up.

Sheppard then reportedly grabbed a board with nails protruding from it and began striking the victim in the head repeatedly. The witness says the victim lost sight in his left eye as a result.

The victim later identified Sheppard in a line up and said the two got into an altercation that led to the fight. He added that Sheppard struck him with a board while he was on the ground.

It was discovered Sheppard was a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history of property crimes, violent crimes and narcotics crimes. Sheppard had been arrested 54 times since 1973 with the most recent arrest coming in 2016 for simple battery.

Sheppard was arrested for attempted second-degree murder and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.