Thursday, January 3, 2013
The family of Joseph Messina was distraught after a Will County judge found him guilty of punching a Joliet man into a coma more than three years ago.
Three and a half years after he was punched into a coma outside a Mokena bar, Eric Bartels sat propped in a wheelchair in a crowded Joliet courtroom. After the judge found the New Lenox man charged with striking him guilty, Bartels blinked his eyes once. "There are times when he knows what's going on," Bartels' mother, Janet Bartels of Tinley Park, said after Judge Sarah Jones delivered her verdict against Joseph Messina, 24, Thursday morning. Janet Bartels wasn't sure if that was one of those moments, but said she saw Messina going down from the start. "I knew this would be the outcome all along," she said. All along began back in July 2009 at the Mokena bar 191 South. Messina and five friends went to 191 South to celebrate his 21st …
Monday, December 10, 2012
The trial of New Lenox man Joseph Messina concluded Monday afternoon.
Nearly six months after it started, the trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma drew to a close Monday afternoon. But the fate of Joseph Messina won't be known until Will County Judge Sarah Jones hands down her verdict Jan. 3. Messina, 24, waived his right to have a jury decide his guilt or innocence before the trial started in June. Messina allegedly punched 29-year-old Eric Bartels in the face outside the Mokena bar 191 South in July 2009. When Bartels fell, his head struck the the concrete and he suffered a fractured skull. A half-dozen witnesses, including two men working for a car service and a 191 South bouncer, testified to seeing Messina throw the fateful punch. But one of Messina's closest friends, …
Friday, December 7, 2012
The star witness in the Mokena coma punch trial can testify without fear of facing criminal charges.
The judge in the Mokena coma punch case cleared the way for Thursday's bombshell witness to keep testifying without fear of prosecution on perjury or obstructing justice charges. The witness, Steve Raymond of Frankfort, then returned to the witness stand to recall how he told the police "a lot of lies," including how he never saw who threw the fateful punch that put a Joliet man in a coma in July 2009. On Thursday and Friday Raymond changed his story and said it was his friend Mike Glielmi who punched 29-year-old Eric Bartels in the face outside the Mokena bar 191 South. Another of Raymond's friends, Joseph Messina, 24, of New Lenox, was charged with attacking Bartels and spent nearly two months in jail before bonding out. Yet Raymond kept…
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The lawyers for New Lenox man Joseph Messina are blaming one of his friends for punching a Joliet man into a coma, but his buddy's pleading the Fifth.
A bombshell witness took the stand in the case against New Lenox man Joseph Messina and accused one of their pals of throwing the fateful punch that put a Joliet man into a coma. Steve Raymond of Frankfort blamed mutual friend Michael Glielmi of punching Eric Bartels into a coma in July 2009. "This is what people don't know," Raymond said. "I saw Mike Glielmi punch Eric Bartels." For his part, the 24-year-old Glielmi showed up in court with Joliet attorney Steven Haney, who said his client would plead the Fifth Amendment if called to testify. "The advice is he's going to invoke his right to remain silent," Haney told Judge Sarah Jones. Haney told the judge that it was his "understanding" that Glielmi could be charged if he answers …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma more than three years ago was back in court Wednesday.
The trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching another man into a coma started more than five months ago, and on Wednesday it was back on with testimony from three state police scientists. The scientists were questioned about blood evidence in the case against 24-year-old Joseph Messina, who allegedly beat a man into a coma outside the Mokena bar 191 South back in July 2009. Messina's trial began in June but the high-profile murder prosecutions of wife-killer Drew Peterson and Christopher Vaughn—the Oswego man who executed his wife and three children—forced the postponement of his case. Now, with both Peterson and Vaughn going down guilty, the Messina case is back on. Messina, who is free on a $250,000 bond, allegedly knocked 29-year-…
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Roads were blocked off around the 700 block of Center Road, and a SWAT team was called in to help. Frankfort Police are still interviewing the suspects involved.
- POLICE & FIRE
- Joe Vince
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Sunday, April 29, 2012
Frankfort Police are still investigating a fight that possibly involved a stabbing Saturday morning in the 700 block of Center Road, a police official said. Chief John Burica said in an e-mail Saturday night that police were still interviewing suspects and did not have details he could release. A special weapons and tactics team was called in to help enter the building where the fight happened but were not needed, Burica stated. Units from the Frankfort Fire Protection District were on standby but were not needed, a fire district official said Saturday, adding that he didn't know what the incident was about. Roads around the area were blocked off around 7:30 a.m., according to a resident, who said that clients at the United Gymnastics …
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Michael A. Jefferson, 33, was arrested for aggravated battery and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon after a skirmish at Gerry's Place in Joliet.
- POLICE & FIRE
- Joe Vince
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
A Frankfort man was arrested Friday, Sept. 16, after brandishing a knife and a crossbow during a fight over shirt-swapping at a Joliet bar, according to a Will County Sheriff's Office report. Michael A. Jefferson, 33, of the 10800 block of Lincoln Highway, was charged with aggravated assault and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon after a fight at Gerry's Place, in the 1800 block of East Washington Street in Joliet. George L. Meline, 45, of the 200 block of Mills Road in Joliet, also was charged with aggravated battery. The fight began inside Gerry's Place after Meline agreed to exchange shirts with an unknown woman, said Kathy Hoffmeyer, a sheriff's office spokeswoman. Eight men, including Jefferson, then jumped Meline, and the fight …
LWC Alumni 08
9:05 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
I know everyone who is siding with Eric obviously knew him and was a good friend and it is beyond terrible what happened. But I knew Joe Messina in High School and he truly is one of the nicest and most loved guys around. It could have happened to anyone while out drinking. Not many people will ever really know the full truth, and you guys act like he doesn't feel bad, but I'm sure he would do … more ›