Thursday, May 16, 2013
Defense attorneys want the judge who found a New Lenox man guilty of punching another man into a coma outside a Mokena bar to step down.
Hours after a Will County Judge found a New Lenox man guilty of punching another man into a coma, she received an email from the state's attorney's office. Attached to the email was a statement from Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow about the case. The judge, Sarah Jones, said she never opened the attachment, but the lawyers for the New Lenox man awaiting sentencing for the fateful punch want her off the case anyway. "It's about the appearance to everyone in the county—it's about the appearance to the citizen's of Illinois," defense attorney Dave Carlson said as he argued Judge Jones should recuse herself from the case of Joseph Messina during a Thursday afternoon hearing at the Will County Courthouse. Messina, 24, was found …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
An email from the state's attorney's office to the judge in the New Lenox coma puncher case is enough to get the convicted man a new trial, according to court papers filed by defense lawyers.
On the day a New Lenox man was to be sentenced for punching another man into a coma outside a Mokena bar, the judge announced she received an email from the prosecutor's office. Even though Will County Judge Sarah Jones didn't read the email, lawyers for convicted coma-puncher Joseph Messina say that just the fact she got it means she should start a whole new trial and leave it to another judge to decide the case. Messina, 24, was found guilty in January of punching 29-year-old Eric Bartels of Joliet outside the Mokena bar 191 South in July 2009. The attack left Bartels in a coma. Messina was set to be sentenced March 6 but his attorneys, Dave Carlson and Ken Zelazo, instead argued for a new trial based on a lack of evidence, among other …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The trial of Joseph Messina concluded Monday afternoon, and a Will County judge will hand down her verdict in January.
Nearly six months after it started, the trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a man into a coma drew to a close Monday afternoon. But the fate of Joseph Messina won't be known until Will County Judge Sarah Jones hands down her verdict Jan. 3. Messina, 24, waived his right to have a jury decide his guilt or innocence before the trial started in June. READ: No Mistrial for Defendant in Coma Beating Case Messina allegedly punched Eric Bartels, 29, in the face outside the Mokena bar 191 South in July 2009. When Bartels fell, his head struck the concrete and he suffered a fractured skull. Bartels, who was living in Joliet at the time, suffered a fracture skull and brain damage. He is currently paralyzed and blind, and he lives in …
Friday, December 7, 2012
The lawyers for Joseph Messina, of New Lenox, are blaming one of his friends for punching Eric Bartels in July 2009, a blow that left him paralyzed. That buddy, however, is pleading the Fifth.
A bombshell witness took the stand in the case against New Lenox man Joseph Messina and accused one of their pals of throwing the fateful punch that put a Joliet man into a coma. Steve Raymond, of Frankfort, blamed mutual friend Michael Glielmi of punching Eric Bartels in July 2009. "This is what people don't know," Raymond said. "I saw Mike Glielmi punch Eric Bartels." READ: No Mistrial for Defendant in Coma Beating Case For his part, Glielmi, 24, showed up in court with Joliet attorney Steven Haney, who said his client would plead the Fifth Amendment if called to testify. "The advice is he's going to invoke his right to remain silent," Haney told Judge Sarah Jones. Haney told the judge that it was his "understanding" that Glielmi could …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Joseph Messina, of New Lenox, is accused of hitting a man in 2009, putting him in a coma and leaving him with massive head trauma.
The trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching another man into a coma started more than five months ago, and on Wednesday it was back on with testimony from three state police scientists. The scientists were questioned about blood evidence in the case against 24-year-old Joseph Messina, who allegedly beat a man into a coma outside the Mokena bar 191 South back in July 2009. READ: Coma-Puncher Raised Arms in 'Victory' Messina's trial began in June but the high-profile murder prosecutions of wife-killer Drew Peterson and Christopher Vaughn—the Oswego man who executed his wife and three children—forced the postponement of his case. Now, with both Peterson and Vaughn being found guilty, the Messina case is back on. Messina, who is free on…
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Janet Bartels, of Tinley Park, filed a lawsuit against Silver Cross and Provena St. Joseph's hospitals on behalf of her son, who suffered massive head trauma in a 2009 Mokena bar fight. The suit accuses the medical centers of negligence.
The Tinley Park mother of a Joliet man who was put in a coma after a 2009 bar fight filed a lawsuit on her son's behalf against two hospitals Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reports. READ: Check Out the Full Story in the Chicago Tribune for More Details The suit by Janet Bartels claims two doctors and Silver Cross Hospital, then in Joliet (it moved to New Lenox this year) and Provena St. Joseph's Medical Center, also in Joliet, were negligent and didn't properly talk to first responders after her son was injured in the attack, the Tribune reported. Eric Bartels, 29, suffered massive head trauma and continues to endure debilitating effects after Joseph Messina, 24, of New Lenox, allegedly knocked Bartels to the ground with a single punch …
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma outside a Mokena bar will resume next month.
The bench trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma outside a Mokena bar took a back seat to two of the most notorious and highly publicized murder cases in Will County's history. But the trials of wife-murderer Drew Peterson and quadruple-killer Christopher Vaughn are over now, and the case of Joseph Messina is back on. Messina, 24, allegedly knocked 29-year-old Eric Bartels of Joliet to the ground with a single punch outside the Mokena bar 191 South in July 2009. Bartels has been in a coma since. After Bartels fell, a witness testified previously, Messina straddled him, punched his face again, then "raised his arms above his head in victory." The police arrived quickly and found Messina hiding between the …
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
A judge ruled has missing photos are a moot point in the trial of Joseph Messina of New Lenox, charged with punching a Joliet resident into a coma outside of a Mokena bar in 2009.
A defense motion for mistrial with prejudice was denied Monday in the aggravated battery case of 24-year-old Joseph Messina, of New Lenox. A Will County judge also denied an opportunity for a motion for a mistrial that would impeach the prosecution. Messina is accused of punching a Joliet man to the ground in a bar fight and knocking his head against the pavement. Since then, Eric Bartels, 29, has remained unable to speak or see. Will County Judge Sarah Jones said after having reviewed the testimony and case law provided, it became "very obvious" that both the state and the defense were unaware of photos pertaining to Messina's hands until June when police investigators indicated that they were part of the stream of evidence. …
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Judge says she'll take a week to decide on a motion for mistrial with prejudice. Joseph Messina, of New Lenox, is accused of punching Joliet resident Eric Bartels into a coma.
The aggravated battery case of New Lenox resident Joseph Messina, 24, who was accused three years ago on his 21st birthday of punching a Joliet man into a coma during a bar fight in Mokena, got a bit theatrical Monday at Will County Circuit Court in Joliet. Will County Circuit Judge Sarah Jones said she would review the case and return Aug. 13 with a decision in regard to the motion for mistrial with prejudice. For nearly an hour, the judge listened intently to both the prosecution and the defense team. The focus was on a defense motion for a "mistrial with prejudice," meaning the case is not eligible to be retried. Previously there had been problems confirming the legitimacy of the photos recorded during the initial interview with …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The case against New Lenox resident Joseph Messina is continued till Aug. 6. He's charged with beating a Joliet man into a coma outside of a Mokena bar in 2009.
The aggravated battery case of Joseph Messina, of New Lenox, continues to linger on in Will County Circuit Court. Today the defense's motion for mistrial was continued until Aug. 6. Chuck Pelkie, Will County State's Attorney spokesman, said Will County Judge Sarah Jones approved the continuance. Messina, 23, was charged with punching Joliet resident Eric Bartels into a coma outside of a Mokena bar in 2009. The former football player for Lincoln-Way Central High School was charged with aggravated battery for the alleged attack. He is accused of punching Bartels, 29, and knocking him to the pavement where he struck his head. On July 23 Messina's defense attorney David Carlson asked for time to investigate exactly how copies of photos …
Dede
11:02 am on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Baba Wawa, I realize new trial motions are not rare. I was just commenting on the reasons used lately. Why get nasty about it? I didn't think that's the purpose for this site. more ›