Second conviction for man in 2009 bar brawl
A Will County jury on Tuesday found a New Lenox man guilty a second time of a 2009 attack outside a Mokena bar that left a man paralyzed and unable to speak.
After deliberating 11 hours over two days, the jury of seven men and five women found Joseph Messina, 33, guilty of two counts aggravated battery for the 2009 brawl outside 191 South, a former bar and restaurant in Mokena.
Jurors found Messina was the person who delivered the punches that forced Eric Bartels, of Tinley Park, to the ground, hitting his head against the concrete and leaving him with a traumatic brain injury.
Messina was convicted in 2012 on three charges of aggravated battery and given 30 months probation and 250 hours of community service. He also was ordered to pay $630 a week during the term of his probation to help cover the cost of Bartels’ care.
An appellate court overturned the conviction and sent the case back for a new trial in 2015, after finding the Will County state’s attorney’s office improperly sent the judge an email following the bench trial. Messina served out his sentence from his original conviction, his attorney Jeff Tomczak said, with the appellate court ruling coming during Messina’s final week of probation.
Tomczak said Tuesday he will file a motion for a new trial, saying he believed jurors ignored evidence presented during the weeklong trial that suggested another man was responsible for punching Bartels, who was 26 at the time of the attack.
During the trial, Tomczak presented evidence that another man with Messina told others in the car he was riding in that night that he punched Bartels. In closing arguments, Tomczak also reminded jurors of testimony from witnesses who described different clothing the person who punched Bartels was wearing.
Fewer than five hours into deliberations, jurors late Monday afternoon sent Judge Vincent Cornelius a note indicating they were deadlocked with 10 jurors
voting guilty and two not guilty. The note was not read publicly Monday but was read into the record after Tuesday’s verdict at the defense’s request.
Special Prosecutor Charles Colburn met with jurors after the verdict, but declined to talk about the discussion.
Colburn said it was difficult to put together a 12-year-old case, but said he was grateful to the witnesses who testified and to the Mokena Police Department for preserving all of the evidence. Members of Bartels’ family, who were present throughout the trial, declined to comment after the verdict. Bartels was not at the courthouse for Tuesday’s verdict, but did attend one day of testimony during the trial.
A hearing on any post-conviction motions, including the request for a new trial, is set for Feb. 17. Messina’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 4.
Colburn said he is unsure if he can ask for a sentence beyond what was originally given after Messina’s first trial. A conviction of aggravated battery could result in a prison term of two to five years or 30 months probation.
“We have to do some research on whether or not sentencing starts from zero,” Colburn said.
After closing arguments Monday, Tomczak said he did not believe Messina should face any additional sentencing.
“He’s done nothing but live a stellar life for the entire time, both on and off probation,” Tomczak said. “Legally there would be no reason to increase the penalties.”