<img src=" http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/courts.gif " border=0> Judge dismisses charge against one in assault case

July 11, 2009 12:57 am

— A Jasper County judge cited a lack of evidence in dismissing a charge of second-degree assault against a Webb City teen during a preliminary hearing Thursday.
Judge Richard Copeland in Associate Division of Jasper County Circuit Court dismissed the charge against Donavan Blake Epperson, 19, after hearing testimony from the alleged victim, Justin W. Jarmin, 21, also of Webb City.
Jarmin testified that he was assaulted by Epperson and four other individuals shortly after 1 a.m. on March 20 in the parking lot of Cadillac Ranch, a bar in rural Carthage. He stated that another individual struck his girlfriend first, and when he attempted to intervene, he was attacked by several men, including Epperson.
During cross-examination, Jarmin said he could not say for certain who exactly attacked him, as he was knocked to the ground and beaten.
Another defendant, Eddie Lee Haywood Jr., 19, also of Webb City, was bound over for trial by Copeland after a preliminary hearing on May 20. Haywood is also accused of striking Jarmin and a female victim outside of Cadillac Ranch.