The Akron Legal News

Man convicted in stabbing outside a bar loses appeal

JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to Legal News
Published: February 11, 2014

A Seneca County man recently lost his appeal after the 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled that there was ample evidence supporting the state’s claim that he stabbed another man in a bar parking lot.

James Hayes III appealed his convictions for felonious assault from the Seneca County Court of Common Pleas and argued that they were against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Upon review, the three-judge appellate panel found that the state presented testimony from 17 individuals at a jury trial.

The first witness, Ohio State Trooper Anthony Scherley testified that in February 2012 he stopped a white minivan after it pulled out in front of him.

As he approached the vehicle, he stated that he saw blood on the driver and on the van.

The driver, Brian Armbruster, told Scherley that he had been stabbed during a fight at a bar. Armbruster was then transported from the scene by ambulance.

Tiffin police officer Brent Riley testified that he was sent to Stiney’s Three Oaks Bar in Tiffin to investigate the alleged stabbing.

When he arrived, he found blood droplets and a small knife in the parking lot area.

Later during his shift, Riley was sent to investigate a car accident and was told that the suspect for the stabbing may be involved.

Riley found blood on the car in the accident as well as blood on a T-shirt inside the car.

Hayes, the car’s passenger, reportedly told an EMT that he had been injured in a fight at a bar. He was then taken to a hospital by ambulance.

Hayes’ wife, Staci, was driving the car at the time of the accident and was also transported to the hospital.

A camouflage shirt found in the back of Hayes’ car was later identified as the shirt Armbruster was wearing at Three Oaks and was stained by his blood.

The knife found in the parking lot had Armbruster’s and Hayes’ DNA on the blade, but only Hayes’ DNA on the handle.

Hayes later told a detective that he was attacked outside the bar by three or four men.

He claimed that he had been struck in the face with a brick and severely beaten. The detective, however, testified that his injuries were not consistent with that explanation.

Roger Seifert told the court that he was with Armbruster throughout the day in question. He said the two were leaving the bar when they saw Hayes and Staci fighting in the parking lot.

Seifert said he told Hayes to leave her alone and Hayes charged him. The men ended up “wrestling on the ground” with Seifert on top and striking Hayes.

He said he eventually let Hayes up and saw him pull something shiny out of his pocket and stab Armbruster.

Seifert said once he and Armbruster got in the van, Hayes started hitting it and kicking it while trying to get in.

They then pulled out of the parking lot and were stopped by Scherley.

Armbruster also testified that they were leaving the bar when they saw the couple fighting.

He said he reached his van, but when he looked back he saw Seifert and Hayes fighting. When he tried to break the men up, he said Staci jumped on his back.

He was able to get her off and again attempted to stop the men but Staci jumped on his back a second time.

After Armbruster removed Staci the second time, he said he approached the other two men and suddenly felt a stabbing and a “rush of blood coming out of him.”

He denied seeing a knife but said he immediately returned to his van. He agreed that Hayes attacked the van and tried to get in.

Armbruster was put on life support for two days and was in the intensive care unit for seven to 10 days.

He lost 65 percent of his blood and experienced a collapsed lung.

He said he has permanent damage to his lung and had to have reconstructive surgery to resolve a problem with his stomach.

Several bar patrons testified that Armbruster and Seifert were in the bar but did not get into any arguments while inside the bar.

They also claimed that Staci was visibly intoxicated and fighting with Hayes on the night in question.

Staci testified for the defense and insisted that she and Hayes were not fighting.

She said three men jumped Hayes in the parking lot and when she jumped on one of the men to stop her, he slammed her to the ground.

Eventually, she claimed the three men just stopped striking Hayes and walked away.

She said she put Hayes in her car and left to go home. They were in a head-on collision within 10 minutes and taken to the hospital.

The jury found Hayes guilty of two counts of felonious assault and he was sentenced to an aggregate term of seven years in prison and ordered to pay $6,633 in restitution.

The reviewing judges found that the first count of Hayes’ indictment alleged that he feloniously assaulted Armbruster.

In weighing the evidence, they found that Armbruster and Seifert both testified that Armbruster was stabbed during an altercation with Hayes, that Hayes admitted to having a knife but losing it, that a knife was found at the scene with only Hayes’ DNA on the handle and that Armbruster’s bloody shirt was found in Hayes’ car.

They also found that Staci gave contradicting testimony.

“However, (the detective) testified that Hayes’ story of the attack was not consistent with the physical evidence. Hayes’ version of events was also not consistent with the testimony of (a bar patron) who testified that she saw Hayes punching a white van, which was identified as belonging to Armbruster,” Presiding Judge John Willamowski wrote for the court. “The evidence presented does not weigh heavily against conviction and does not indicate that the jury lost its way. Thus, the verdict as to count one is not against the manifest weight of the evidence.”

Similarly, the judges found that the witness testimony supported Hayes’ conviction for felonious assault against Seifert.

They determined that Seifert’s jacket had a cut consistent with the knife’s blade and that the circumstantial evidence could have led a juror to believe Hayes’ attempted to physically harm Seifert.

“Having found no error prejudicial to appellant as to the particulars of the errors assigned and argued, the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Seneca County is affirmed.”

Judges Vernon Preston and John Rogers concurred.

The case is cited State v. Hayes, 2014-Ohio-254.

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