November 4, 2009 Indiana State Rep. DeLaney speaks about attack Play video

(NECN/WRTV: Indianapolis, Ind.) - Indiana State Rep. Ed DeLaney said Tuesday that he thought he would be killed in a bizarre attack in Carmel, Ind. over the weekend.

As he recovers at home from serious head and eye injuries, five broken ribs and a punctured lung, DeLaney recounted a Saturday morning meeting with a man he thought wanted to talk to him about a business deal.

DeLaney said he was tricked into the meeting in a secluded Hamilton County neighborhood with Augustus Mendenhall, 38, who he thought wanted real estate advice.

Instead, Mendenhall admitted in interviews earlier this week, he wanted revenge.

"He brought up whether I felt guilty or whether I had abused anybody in lawsuits," DeLaney said. "That was the trigger for me to know this was revenge for some case, and he didn't tell me what case."

Mendenhall said he has held a vendetta against DeLaney for 26 years because of his involvement in a case that shut down an adult bookstore planned by Mendenhall's father.

DeLaney said he thought he would be killed when Mendenhall, who was sitting in his car, pulled a gun on him and pulled the trigger.

"He fumbled the gun. He worked on it, and I later saw that it was jammed," DeLaney said.

The lawmaker said that when John and Cathy Palmer, a couple who knows him, came upon his car by sheer chance, he saw that as an opportunity to subtly tip them off to the situation.

"He puts the gun to my back, and

After the couple left, Mendenhall began beating DeLaney with the gun and his fists, DeLaney said. When police arrived after a 911 call from the Palmers, they saw Mendenhall on top of DeLaney, beating him, investigators said.

Mendenhall was taken into custody after a short chase. He remains in the Hamilton County Jail, facing several felony charges, including attempted murder.