Jury deliberates case of West Main Street fight

After deliberating for nearly two and a half hours, a jury will resume deliberations Tuesday morning in Highland County Common Pleas Court in the trial of a man charged with beating another man until he was unconscious outside a Hillsboro bar. The defendant says that he feared for his life and acted in self-defense after he said he was attacked by two men outside the bar. 

Wesley Gibson, 29, was indicted in May on one count of felonious assault, a felony of the second degree. He was arrested in the early morning hours of March 31 outside Christopher's Lounge on West Main Street in Hillsboro. 

Multiple officers from the Hillsboro Police Department and the Highland County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene. 

A sergeant with the Highland County Sheriff's Office appeared in uniform Monday when he testified for the defense, saying that he had a "father-and-son relationship" with the defendant. While he said that he was not investigating the case, he said he had spoken to one of the witnesses the day after the fight, who told him that the alleged victim, and not Gibson, had been the aggressor in the fight.

The victim in the case – who was at the bar to celebrate his 36th birthday – sustained facial fractures, including a broken nose and orbital bone. He had surgery to repair the injuries, during which a titanium mesh was implanted to support the bone structure. 

Defense attorney Todd Long alleged that the victim was trying to impress friends who were in a motorcycle group called The Sons of Mayhem, which prompted him to attack Gibson. 

There were inconsistencies in testimony from defense and state witnesses regarding the timeline of the events surrounding the altercations, and who was the aggressor. Some state witnesses testified that there were two separate incidents, which took place on the West Main Street sidewalk after 2 a.m. March 31, while defense witnesses testified there was one event.

During Monday's jury trial before Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss, the state, represented by Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins, presented six witnesses, including the victim and Officer Todd Whited of the Hillsboro Police Department. Three witnesses to the altercation also testified: Jake Christ, Cindy Truesdale and Tim Cowguill, as well as Dr. Ken Christman, the plastic surgeon who operated on the victim at Miami Valley Hospital. 

In addition to Gibson, the defense presented six witnesses, including Sgt. Steve Alexander of the HCSO, Gibson's friend Marcus Zimmerman, Gibson's then-girlfriend Amber Temple, Sons of Mayhem founder and president Jim Cooper, and Arbie Bowen and Mike Wilson, who were at the bar when the events occurred. 

Truesdale testified that, prior to the fight, she had offered to drive the victim home. They exited the bar and got into her truck that was parked on West Main Street. She said they then witnessed an altercation between a group of people on the sidewalk, and the victim exited the vehicle to assist, and he eventually ended up "wrestling on the ground" with Gibson.

The fight was broken up, and the victim walked in the direction of North West Street, toward his home. Truesdale said that she followed the victim to tell him she would take him home. As they were walking back to her vehicle, she said that Gibson attacked him, and the two fought in a narrow alcove area inset into one of the West Main Street buildings. Truesdale tried to stop the fight, but she testified that Marcus Zimmerman blocked her from entering the alcove. She said that Gibson was on top of the victim, hitting him, and that she pulled Gibson's shirt off as she tried to stop him. 

"It was horrible," Truesdale said, as she described the victim being struck multiple times. 

When the victim took the stand, he testified that he remembered getting out of the car after witnessing the altercation on the sidewalk, but the next thing he remembered was waking up in Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. 

On cross-examination, Long questioned the victim regarding an April 9 doctor visit to Highland District Hospital. Long said that according to a hospital report, the victim told the physician that he couldn't see. In response to nearly all of Long's questions regarding that hospital visit, the victim said that he either did not remember or did not know the answer to the question, including whether or not he was examined or if he was able to walk into the hospital. He also said that he did not recall telling MVH staff that he was struck with brass knuckles.

Long asked the victim if he was wearing a Sons of Mayhem T-shirt the night of the fight, and he responded that there was a Sons of Mayhem biker group and a Sons of Mayhem pool league group, which some of the bikers were in. The shirt was for the pool league, he said, and that he was not attempting to become a member of the biker group. 

Cooper testified that the group has since been disbanded, but that he founded it to be a charity organization that was family-friendly. There were issues, he said, with members not adhering to the group's purpose. 

Prior to Gibson taking the stand, the court held arguments over whether or not the jury instructions would include a paragraph regarding self-defense. Long said the evidence showed Gibson's state of mind was that he was fearful for his life and safety.

Collins argued that that Gibson would have to testify in order to show his state of mind. Coss ruled in favor of the state, saying, the grounds for self-defense require "reasonable grounds and honest belief" that they are in imminent danger. 

"It is personal," Coss said. "No one can know what you're thinking," and therefore testimony from the defendant is required on self-defense. 

When he took the stand, Gibson said that he had a prior conviction for aggravated assault and having a concealed weapon. 

Long asked Gibson if, when he exited the bar, "Did you run your mouth?" Gibson said that he had said "some words" but he couldn't remember exactly what they were. 

Some state and some defense witnesses testified that Gibson had stated that he could fight anyone who was there.

Gibson testified that as he exited the bar, he witnessed an altercation and stepped in, but that Jake Christ struck him in the back of the head with a weapon that looked like a police baton, which caused a laceration and made him bleed. As he and Christ were arguing, Gibson said that the victim jumped on his back. 

"Someone jumped on me, and we wrestled," Gibson said. "I was scared. I was taking shots from everyone. I thought I was getting jumped. Really, I was getting jumped. I ended up on top, and we wrestled in the cubby hole [the aforementioned alcove]. I was scared. I was scared for my life." 

Gibson said that he hit the victim four or five times and stopped "when he kind of went limp ... I didn't know who was going to hit me next. It was self-preservation, basically."

He testified that he then "ran" to his car, with Zimmerman. Amber Temple, he said, drove them away, but they were pulled over by police. Arbie Bowen was also in the vehicle.

Gibson said that he asked officers to take a picture of his head injury but that "they didn't seem that interested in my side." Eventually, an officer took a picture of the wound. Long showed Gibson a picture of his head taken the night of the incident and asked if that was a true and accurate depiction. Gibson said there was more blood than what the picture showed. Later, Coss denied the photos to be admitted into evidence, as Gibson did not testify they were a true and accurate depiction of his injuries. 

On cross-examination, Collins asked Gibson, "If you were so scared, wouldn't it make sense for you to get in the car and leave?"

"With a guy on my back, I'm going to get in my car and leave?" Gibson asked.

Collins asked how big the "cubby hole" was where the altercation took place and Gibson said, "There was nowhere to run." 

Gibson later said that he was scared because as he was fighting with the victim, "there was a whole crowd of bikers behind me."

Collins questioned Gibson on his previous aggravated assault conviction, which involved "serious physical harm." As he started to answer, Gibson yawned. Collins interrupted, asking, "Am I boring you?" Gibson started to answer that he had not slept well, but Collins said she had nothing further to ask.

Zimmerman testified that while he did not see Christ strike Gibson, he saw a weapon in his hand. 

After the fight started between Gibson and the victim, Zimmerman said, "that last punch sounded like a pumpkin hitting concrete" and that he saw the victim go limp. "That's when I grabbed (Gibson)" and pulled him off the victim.

Christ testified on the stand that he did not have a weapon that night and that he never struck Gibson. He also testified that after the initial altercation between Gibson and the victim, the victim walked away. Christ said Gibson "dove" at the victim and started hitting him in the head.

Sgt. Steve Alexander said that the night after the incident, he ran into Christ at a gas station on West Main Street, and they had a conversation regarding the fight. Alexander testified that Christ told him the victim had attacked Gibson first. 

On cross-examination, Collins asked Alexander who requested him to to investigate the incident. Alexander said that he was not investigating. 

"I can speak to whoever I want to when I'm on the street on my own time," Alexander said. 

Collins asked why Alexander was dressed in his HCSO uniform in the courtroom. Alexander said he normally wears his uniform when he testifies in court. Collins asked when he normally testifies if it is typically on behalf of the state regarding an investigation. Alexander said that he has been subpoenaed to testify for a defense case before. Collins asked if Alexander was being paid to testify, and he said that he was there on his "own time." 

Alexander said that he had known Gibson for years, and Gibson had lived with him at one point but moved out when "he went back to jail" and they had a "father-and-son relationship." 

Collins asked Alexander if he had a cell phone other than his HCSO-issued phone, and Alexander said that he did not. When asked if he had ever spoken to defense counsel on that phone, Alexander said that he had not, but that he had spoken to Gibson on the phone. 

"Yes, he has called and voiced concern on the case," Alexander said. 

Collins asked if Alexander was "prejudiced against the prosecutor's office" because the state has filed multiple charges against his wife. Alexander said that he had no prejudice against the office. 

Alexander testified that he sometimes drives a motorcycle to work. Collins asked who owns the motorcycle, and Alexander testified that it belongs to Casey Gibson, the defendant's brother. When asked how it came to be in his possession, Alexander said that Wesley Gibson had driven it to his house. Collins asked if Gibson was licensed to operate a motorcycle and Alexander said that he was not. 

Jurors began deliberations on the case just before 5 p.m. Monday and were dismissed for the evening just after 7 p.m. They are scheduled to resume deliberations Tuesday at 8 a.m. in Highland County Common Pleas Court.