JimBob
11-19-2008, 08:35 PM
Oklahoma-Texas bar brawl charges dismissed
By Associated Press
11/19/2008 5:29 PM
Last Modified: 11/19/2008 5:33 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Allen Beckett said he was just enjoying a beer at his favorite Oklahoma City bar in June 2007 when a young man wearing a University of Texas T-shirt strolled in.
Beckett, a 54-year-old federal auditor and church deacon, said he good-naturedly ribbed the man, saying the Longhorn emblem on his shirt was upside down.
What ensued a short time later was a bar fight that left the Texas fan nearly castrated with an injury to his scrotum so severe it took 60 stitches to close and Beckett facing a felony assault charge and up to five years in prison.
The criminal case ended Wednesday when prosecutors filed paperwork to dismiss the charge against Beckett, saying witnesses had come forward who indicated the alleged victim, 35-year-old Brian Christopher Thomas, was actually the aggressor.
Messages left Wednesday for Thomas and his attorney, Carl Hughes, were not returned.
During a preliminary hearing in March, Thomas testified that Beckett taunted him relentlessly and that when he decided to leave, Beckett attacked him without provocation, grabbing his groin.
"I turned around and he grabbed a hold of my testicles," Thomas said at the time.
When a pair of bar patrons tried to separate the two men, Thomas said he heard a popping sound, looked down and saw a lot of blood.
"I saw a tear and an exposed testicle," Thomas said. "I panicked."
But District Attorney David Prater, who initially charged Beckett with felony aggravated assault, said witnesses have since come forward who said Thomas was the aggressor.
"So many witnesses came forward with stories counter to what the victim's story was and supporting the story of the defendant," Prater said Wednesday. "We found we had a case on our hands that we no longer could prove beyond a reasonable doubt."
Jamy Snyder, a bartender at Henry Hudson's Pub, a northwest Oklahoma City bar in the heart of Sooner country, told investigators Thomas said he'd already been in another fight and was anxious to scrap with Beckett, according to court papers.
Other bar patrons, including friends of Thomas, also told investigators that Thomas was intoxicated and looking for trouble, court records show.
For his part, Beckett said he was minding his own business when Thomas approached him at the bar and threatened to beat him up. He said he only grabbed Thomas after the bigger, younger man tried to pull him from his bar stool.
"He started pulling me out of the chair, so I sprung out of the chair into his chest," said Beckett, a 22-year Army veteran. "You go straight for 'em. You don't hit the dirt, you go straight for the machine gun."
Beckett said he didn't grab Thomas' groin until the two men hit the ground and then only to keep Thomas from attacking him. He said he also had no idea Thomas had been injured so severely.
"I expected him to be sore for a couple of days, but I didn't think he was seriously hurt, Beckett said.
While Beckett acknowledged ribbing Thomas once about his Texas T-shirt, he said it was just a friendly taunt.
"I didn't even go to OU," Beckett said. "I'm a baseball fan."
Damn, what a surprise!:ousucksnana:
By Associated Press
11/19/2008 5:29 PM
Last Modified: 11/19/2008 5:33 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Allen Beckett said he was just enjoying a beer at his favorite Oklahoma City bar in June 2007 when a young man wearing a University of Texas T-shirt strolled in.
Beckett, a 54-year-old federal auditor and church deacon, said he good-naturedly ribbed the man, saying the Longhorn emblem on his shirt was upside down.
What ensued a short time later was a bar fight that left the Texas fan nearly castrated with an injury to his scrotum so severe it took 60 stitches to close and Beckett facing a felony assault charge and up to five years in prison.
The criminal case ended Wednesday when prosecutors filed paperwork to dismiss the charge against Beckett, saying witnesses had come forward who indicated the alleged victim, 35-year-old Brian Christopher Thomas, was actually the aggressor.
Messages left Wednesday for Thomas and his attorney, Carl Hughes, were not returned.
During a preliminary hearing in March, Thomas testified that Beckett taunted him relentlessly and that when he decided to leave, Beckett attacked him without provocation, grabbing his groin.
"I turned around and he grabbed a hold of my testicles," Thomas said at the time.
When a pair of bar patrons tried to separate the two men, Thomas said he heard a popping sound, looked down and saw a lot of blood.
"I saw a tear and an exposed testicle," Thomas said. "I panicked."
But District Attorney David Prater, who initially charged Beckett with felony aggravated assault, said witnesses have since come forward who said Thomas was the aggressor.
"So many witnesses came forward with stories counter to what the victim's story was and supporting the story of the defendant," Prater said Wednesday. "We found we had a case on our hands that we no longer could prove beyond a reasonable doubt."
Jamy Snyder, a bartender at Henry Hudson's Pub, a northwest Oklahoma City bar in the heart of Sooner country, told investigators Thomas said he'd already been in another fight and was anxious to scrap with Beckett, according to court papers.
Other bar patrons, including friends of Thomas, also told investigators that Thomas was intoxicated and looking for trouble, court records show.
For his part, Beckett said he was minding his own business when Thomas approached him at the bar and threatened to beat him up. He said he only grabbed Thomas after the bigger, younger man tried to pull him from his bar stool.
"He started pulling me out of the chair, so I sprung out of the chair into his chest," said Beckett, a 22-year Army veteran. "You go straight for 'em. You don't hit the dirt, you go straight for the machine gun."
Beckett said he didn't grab Thomas' groin until the two men hit the ground and then only to keep Thomas from attacking him. He said he also had no idea Thomas had been injured so severely.
"I expected him to be sore for a couple of days, but I didn't think he was seriously hurt, Beckett said.
While Beckett acknowledged ribbing Thomas once about his Texas T-shirt, he said it was just a friendly taunt.
"I didn't even go to OU," Beckett said. "I'm a baseball fan."
Damn, what a surprise!:ousucksnana: