SAMSON, Ala. (AP) - An aide said Monday that Samson mayor Clay King will remain in office as he awaits trial in Florida.

He is accused of beating and stabbing a man he allegedly found with his wife at a Panhandle motel.

King is in his third term as mayor of Samson. Police Lieutenant Bill Chapman of DeFuniak Springs, Florida, said King was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in an attack on 44-year-old Stephen Hunter Oates, of Chancellor, Alabama.

King, who is 43, is free on bond. He did not return a message left at his city office, but a City Hall worker told local newspaper King remained mayor as allowed by Alabama law.

Oates was initially listed in critical condition, and he remained hospitalized following surgery. His current condition was not immediately available.

Chapman said King confronted Oates and his wife, Paula King, outside a DeFuniak Springs motel early Friday.

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