A knife fight over a girl at the Travel Inn in Opp landed two local men in jail Wednesday afternoon.

Opp Police Chief Mike McDonald said the police department received a call indicating that subjects were fighting in the parking lot of the motel.

“At 4:08 p.m., Opp Police Department patrol units arrived on the scene, where they restored order and located two adult male subjects that were suffering from knife wounds,” McDonald said. “The Opp Fire Department as well as ambulance crews arrived on the scene and began first aid. Both subjects were transported to the Mizell Memorial Hospital emergency room for treatment.”

McDonald said OPD investigators conducted an investigation, which resulted in the arrests of Jerry Neil Bennett, 38, of Opp and Charles Norman Jacobs, 47, of Andalusia.

Both were released from the hospital and have been charged with assault II.

Johnny Barclay, a witness who saw the knife fight, said his uncle, Bennett, and Jacobs were arguing over a girl.

“The dude, Norman, pulled out a knife,” Barclay said. “He started swinging it at him (Bennett). He said, ‘oh you want to do that?’ So, my uncle pulled out his knife and started swinging it at everything.”

Barclay, who is living at the Travel Inn, said Norman and Bennett then traded cuts.

“Somehow, Norman pulled out a pair of brass knuckles out of his pocket,” Barclay said. “They started swinging at each other and hit this young man’s vehicle. Then, they got on the ground and the Norman dude started hitting him with his brass knuckles. That’s when the police came and they both scattered.”

Bennett and Jacobs were transported to the Covington County Jail, where they are being held on $10,000 bonds.

Assault II is a class C felony. If convicted, they could face sentences of no less than one year and one day and no more than 10 years.