An unemployed Union Bridge man surrendered to Westminster police yesterday in connection with the beating death of a Westminster man who reportedly owed him money, authorities said.

Wayne Anthony Wimsett, 39, of the first block of Main St., was charged with one count of first-degree murder and held without bail at the Carroll County Detention Center, court records show.

Jack Austin White, 47, of 202 E. Main St. in Westminster, died Saturday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, the day after he and a man fought in the 200 block of Railroad Ave., said Capt. Dean Brewer, a police spokesman.

In charging documents, police said Sgt. Steve Shatzer went Friday to the rear of 202 E. Main St., where he found White unconscious at 6: 22 p.m. He was taken to Carroll County General Hospital and later transferred to the Baltimore trauma center.

A state medical examiner ruled Sunday that White died by homicide, the result of severe head injuries, court records show.

Detectives said in charging documents that Wimsett told them that he and White had argued over money and that he "punched White in the face 10 to 15 times with [his] fists."

Brewer said police headquarters received reports of a man staggering shortly after 6 p.m., but when officers found the man near Willis and Center streets, he said he was all right and didn't need help.

"Apparently he made it to a point outside his home before collapsing," Brewer said.

Westminster's last homicide occurred Feb. 15, 1997, when a 6-year-old girl died of an overdose of a painkiller prescribed for her mother.

Pub Date: 3/02/99