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Ken Zelazo

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

No Mistrial for Defendant in Coma Beating Case

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.    …

In this Article:

Coma-Puncher Raised Arms in 'Victory', Defense Grows Impassioned in Messina Aggravated Battery Case, Cop Can't Remember Taking Missing Pic in Coma Beating Case, and 8 more ›

Ty Wagner

8:44 am on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Looks like Bubba is getting a new mattress.   more ›

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Defense Grows Impassioned in Messina Aggravated Battery Case

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 …

In this Article:

Closing Arguments Delayed on Mistrial Motion in Coma Beating Case, Coma-Puncher Raised Arms in 'Victory', Mokena Police Department (in Mokena Patch), and 5 more ›

Laura Green

3:54 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013

Messina is a kid that was out on his birthday and he got into a fist fight. If he hit Bartels and Bartels fell down and then friends broke it up, there would be no issue here. I'm sure there was no real intent to harm or destroy Bartels life. There is no evidence that Messina was out looking for a fight, had a gun or a knife or anything to be malicious. It was a fist fight gone bad. It stinks …   more ›

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