A bartender at a Gulfport nightclub has been charged with murder in the death of a man who was beaten with a red baseball bat, according to authorities.

George Wayne Sharpe, 41, didn’t regain consciousness after the assault outside Buddy’s Inn. Sharpe died Aug. 24, two days after the incident in the lounge parking lot. Gulfport police upgraded Danny Allen Westbrook’s initial charge of aggravated assault to murder.

Justice Court Judge Albert Fountain on Wednesday ordered the case bound over to a grand jury after a preliminary hearing. Westbrook remained in custody Friday on a $1 million bond.

Sharpe, a tugboat captain from out of state, was working on a bridge project in Bay St. Louis. Authorities said he was familiar with the area because he had been here on previous jobs.

Just before the assault, Sharpe and a female bartender at Buddy’s Inn had argued and she ordered him to leave, police Detective Mark Clarite said in an affidavit.

“Witnesses have said the defendant got a red baseball bat, went outside, and in front of several people, struck Mr. Sharpe one time in the back and twice in the head,” said Herman Cox, an assistant county attorney. Witnesses said the victim had no weapon and did nothing to provoke the defendant.”

Sharpe died from a brain injury, according to Clarite’s sworn statement.

The Richmond, Va., native was buried near Newport News, Va. Survivors include his wife and four children.