Assault and Battery Dangerous Weapon, Baseball Bat (2 counts) - Superior Court - Not Guilty

Last March, in the early morning, a 19-year-old man, LS, walked into the hospital. His left forearm was swollen and he was bleeding from the head. At first he told the hospital staff that he had "fallen down the stairs." Moments later he told them that been "hit in the head with a baseball bat." The ER personnel treated his head wound by closing it with 4 staples.

Two days later LS' neighbor called the police and told them that a man named NP had broken into the apartment next door and "beat two guys with a bat." The police investigated - this involved talking with two guys (including LS), who claimed to have been in the apartment during the incident. LS told the police that NP came into his apartment "looking for CT." LS went on to tell the police that NP and CT "had a beef" over some stolen items. LS added that NP had, in fact, been staying at LS' apartment the previous two weeks. The other man who was interviewed told the police a similar story. Based on this information the police obtained an arrest warrant for NP.

NP was arrested the next day, without issue. He was taken to the police station and interviewed. NP told the police that he was "there at the apartment" and that he "had been living there, so it wasn't a home invasion." Nevertheless, the police decided to charge NP with the following counts: Home Invasion, ADBW - Baseball Bat (2 counts)

Henry Fasoldt represented NP. Before trial the Home Invasion charge was dismissed, due to lack of evidence. At trial Henry was able to find CT, the "other guy" that had allegedly been beaten. Despite the fact that LS testified that he saw NP beat CT with the bat, CT testified that he was "asleep the whole time" because he had been drinking all night. He added that he woke the next day "hungover," but certainly not with any head injuries.'

The jury found NP "Not Guilty" on both counts