The man accused of attacking the $500,000 lottery winner spotted his target downtown and called an acquaintance to announce his plans before taking a tire iron to the man's head, according to charges filed Wednesday.

Brandon J. Hughes, 20, was charged to assault in the first degree, the most severe crime he could face under state statutes. Hughes, who is from Los Angeles and had been in Anchorage only a short time, is also charged with tampering with evidence. At a hearing Wednesday afternoon Judge Alex Swiderski upped his bail to $150,000 cash.

Hughes is accused of attacking Alec Ahsoak, 53, on Tuesday afternoon after first asking him if he was the winner of the half-million-dollar lottery, conducted by Lucky Times Pull Tabs to benefit the nonprofit Standing Together Against Rape.

Ahsoak has been convicted three times of sexual abuse of a minor, a fact that became widely known after he claimed his winnings.

According to an affidavit filed in court, Hughes called an acquaintance shortly before the attack to say he had seen Ahsoak and was going to "beat his (expletive)." The acquaintance told Hughes not to do anything stupid, charges say, but Hughes shortly called the man back to report that he "beat the (expletive) out of him and he didn't know how badly he was beaten."

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