LAFAYETTE, IN — What apparently started as a man telling a woman she is pretty about 4:50 a.m. Sunday, July 12, ended with the man severely beaten and barely conscious on the John T. Myer Pedestrian Bridge.
Prosecutors charged six people Wednesday morning for the early morning brawl on the bridge between Lafayette and West Lafayette.
The fight started when a 22-year-old man walking with a friend on the pedestrian bridge passed a group and told one of the women she was pretty. The woman thanked the man, hugged him and gave him her phone number, prosecutors say in a probable cause affidavit.
The fight ended with the 22-year-old man lying on the bridge after having been punched and kicked, court records say, and his head was stomped on by the people in the group. His cell phone was stolen during the brawl, too.
After the hug between the victim and a woman in the group, an argument started between the victim and the group of men and women, according to the affidavit.
A woman in the group made at least two video recordings of the confrontation and brawl, which have been posted on social media sites.
Videos show Carl Dwayne Johnson, 36, of the 300 block of Teal Road West in Lafayette, became upset and confronted the victim, sparking an argument between them, according to prosecutors.
Someone tried to separate the victim from Johnson when Jasmine Mae Dallas, 32, of the 1200 block of Brown Street in Lafayette, ran up to the victim, and the victim reacted by punching her in the chest, court records say. That’s when the group rushed the victim and started the brawl.
Prosecutors charged Dallas and Johnson with battery resulting in serious bodily injury and theft. She received a summons to appear on Aug. 17 for her initial hearing. Johnson has not yet been arrested, according to court and jail records.
The man suspected of stomping on the victim’s head is Tristian Jeremiah Patterson, 18, of the 600 block of North 30th Street in Lafayette. Prosecutors charged him with aggravated battery posing substantial risk of death, a Level 3 felony. Patterson also is charged with battery resulting in serious bodily injury and theft. He has not been arrested and is not in custody, according to jail records.
When Patterson is arrested, prosecutors are asking he be held without bond, or alternatively, under a $100,000 surety bond and a $10,000 cash bond. Patterson’s bond will be determined by a judge or a magistrate.
Lesslare Edward Porter, 33, of the 500 block of Gordon Court in Lafayette, and Zachary James Tyner, 58, of the 1400 block of Main Street in Lafayette, were arrested last week. Their initial hearings are Wednesday on charges of battery resulting in serious bodily injury and theft.
Porter also is charged with a more serious Level 3 felony of aggravated battery posing substantial risk of death. He allegedly threw the victim into the bridge railing, pushed him to the ground and hit the victim from behind.
Porter’s bond is set at $100,000 surety and $10,000 cash. Tyner’s bond is set at $50,000 surety and $5,000 cash.
Angela D. Deberry, 25, of the 1100 block of Rochelle Drive in Lafayette, is charged with battery resulting in bodily injury and theft. She has an initial hearing on Wednesday. Her bond is set at $50,000 surety and $5,000 cash.
Deberry admitted to police she was on the bridge and said the group stopped the victim and another man he was with to ask them why they were running. She then said she had tried to defuse the situation, “saw something coming her way and hit (the victim) with two smacks to push (him) back.” Then the victim hit her, and members of the group attacked the victim.
The fight ended with the victim lying on the bridge suffering from a severe concussion. He told police he was unable to read after the attack because of his injuries and suffered extreme pain to his head and blurred vision.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: 6 charged in brawl on Lafayette’s bridge; 2 remain at large
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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By Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier | USA TODAY Network
