Judge rules in fatal fight

Suspect found guilty in bar brawl

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Judge Steven G. Chappelle acquitted Brian A. Hickman, 28, of Mechanicsville, of second-degree assault, which requires intent to be convicted, but also found him guilty of affray.

During the trial, prosecution witnesses alleged that on Oct. 25, Hickman had punched Joshua Matthew Gregor in the parking lot of Pure Restaurant and Lounge. Before the encounter, Gregor had been hanging out with a group of friends in front of the bar, according to testimony. Hickman's friend, Justin E. Ferrall allegedly came out of the bar and punched Gregor several times in the face, witnesses stated. Gregor then walked into the bar's parking lot, where he met Hickman.

After the blows from Hickman, Gregor fell and hit his head on the pavement, losing consciousness, witnesses testified.

Gregor, 25, of La Plata, died on Oct. 27 at Prince George's Hospital Center, according to police.

Called by the prosecution Friday, Dr. Russell Alexander, an assistant state medical examiner, testified that Gregor's death was caused by bleeding on the brain.

"Joshua Gregor died of blunt=-force head trauma," Alexander testified. "His manner of death was homicide. …I think the injuries were caused by a blow to the head or blunt-force head trauma."

When Alexander examined Gregor's body, he said he found a two-inch fracture on the rear of the right side of the victim's skull, which he believes was caused when Gregor fell to the ground. Alexander found massive bleeding under Gregor's scalp and on the front left side of his brain, indicating that this brain had bounced around inside the skull case, causing several areas of bruising.

The defense raised the question of whether Gregor had a pre-existing medical condition that might have caused him to bleed excessively. Alexander reviewed the medical records and found that Gregor's hospital blood tests on the night of the incident showed a normal level of clotting platelets in the victim's bloodstream.

"That [test] would not have been low enough to make him predisposed to bleeding," Alexander testified.

Alexander also testified that Gregor's blood alcohol level was double that of the legal limit to drive a vehicle. The theme of alcohol consumption on the night of the incident also tainted the testimonies of two defense witnesses, who not only contradicted the inconsistent testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, but each other as well.

Allen Raimer, a friend and co-worker of defendant Hickman, testified that he saw two strangers, presumably the victim and prosecution witness David Eichelberger, exit the bar and walk out into the parking lot where Hickman was standing.

"They looked like they were going to jump [Hickman]," Raimer said.

He said he tried to dissuade the two men from engaging Hickman, but then backed away when Eichelberger threatened to hit him.

Raimer said he didn't pay attention to the situation until he looked across the parking lot and "saw Brian [Hickman] throw a quick jab and the [victim] fell over."

Raimer's testimony contradicted prosecution testimony that Hickman threw multiple sucker punches while arguing with the victim. However, it also contradicted the testimony of Kirk White, the next defense witness who claimed he saw the victim "shove [Hickman] in his face" before Hickman struck back.

The defense then called Amanda Davis, a friend of Hickman's girlfriend, who was the only witness in the case who was not drinking on the night of the incident. Davis testified that Gregor and Eichelberger followed Hickman into the parking lot and "pinned him" against his friend's truck, challenging him to fight.

Davis supported White's testimony that Gregor swung first and missed before Hickman punched him and knocked him down.

Hickman then elected to take the stand in his defense. He told the court he did not know the other people involved in the fight and claimed he was unaware of any prior conflict between Ferrall and Gregor. Hickman said he hit Gregor only after Gregor took a swing at him.

"So you hit him?" Spencer asked on cross examination. "That's not what you told police that night."

Spencer replayed a video recorded of Hickman sitting in the back seat of a police cruiser. In the video, an officer informs Hickman that witnesses are saying he punched the victim multiple times and knocked him out.

"What? Oh my goodness," Hickman says in the video. "I ain't hit nobody like that. I got a couple of cuts on my hands from work. I didn't hit nobody."

Spencer referenced this video when questioning Hickman's claim that he hit Gregor in self-defense.

"We never heard the defendant actually say, ‘I hit him, because I was afraid,'" Spencer noted. "Why would [Hickman] say he didn't hit [Gregor] if it was self-defense?"

Chappelle signaled that he had doubts, saying to Spencer, "Tell me why you've proven this man's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

Spencer replied that, beyond a reasonable doubt, Gregor died from a fall caused by a blow from Hickman that was not thrown in self-defense. He agreed that Hickman did not intend to kill Gregor, but said that the state had not charged Hickman with murder, but manslaughter.

In his closing statement, defense attorney Robert Harvey argued that the state's witnesses were not reliable and that Ferrall was the man who instigated the conflict, causing Hickman to have to defend himself.

"The state has a theory in this case, and they want to adjust the facts to fit the theory," Harvey said.

"We don't have an obligation to call witnesses we don't believe," Spencer shot back in his rebuttal.

"There's a lot of evidence," Chappelle said once the two attorneys finished. "There's a lot of evidence in conflict."

Attorneys finished presenting their evidence on Friday, and Chappelle presented his verdict just after noon on Monday.

Hickman's sentencing is scheduled for June 15, and he was allowed to remain free on bond until the hearing, according to court documents.

Ferrall, 30, of Hollywood entered an Alford plea on March 6 to second-degree assault, meaning he didn't admit guilt but recognized that the state's evidence could lead to his conviction in a trial.

He was sentenced to three years of probation.

jfriess@somdnews.com