Fistfight at court delays manslaughter trial
Kin of victim, accused in '07 killing square off
A brawl in a hallway of the Allen County Courthouse sent two people to the hospital, four people to jail and caused a nearly five-month postponement of a manslaughter trial Monday morning.
A Courthouse maintenance worker scrubbed blood off the tile floor and swept up clumps of hair outside the Allen Circuit Court room, while prosecutors and defense attorneys came up with a new date for William Shoemaker's trial on charges of voluntary manslaughter and criminal recklessness.
Prosecutors charged Shoemaker, 33, in connection with the June 2007 shooting death of 19-year-old Valentino Garcia. According to court documents, police believe Shoemaker acted under "sudden heat" when he shot Garcia in the chest at a party.
The blood, hair and a lingering odor of pepper spray in the Courthouse hallway were the only tangible evidence of the fistfight that occurred about 30 minutes earlier when Shoemaker's family and friends gathered alongside the Garcia family outside the courtroom. Police said family members of the victim mistook one of Shoemaker's relatives for Shoemaker, which may have led to the fight.
Later Monday, Shoemaker's brother told police about a dead cat left on his porch, police said.
It was a different fight that led to the shooting last year that brought the two families together Mon- day.
After drinking vodka, Garcia grew agitated and began picking fights with other party guests. Eventually, Garcia twice knocked Shoemaker's glasses off his face. Shoemaker shot Garcia in the chest with a Glock 9 mm handgun. Garcia ran out of the house and fell onto the sidewalk where he died, according to court documents.
Shoemaker has been free on bond since his arrest last year, according to court records.
Arrested during Monday's melee were Michael A. Garcia, 21, and Richard A. Garcia, 18, both of the1800 block of Sandpoint Road, and two other Fort Wayne men, ages 24 and 20.
Michael Garcia and Richard Garcia, brothers of the victim, were each charged with one count of felony battery and misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and resisting law enforcement. The other two men, who are Shoemaker's cousins, were charged with misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and resisting law enforcement. All four were ordered held without bond.
All four men were listed as potential witnesses in the case, according to court documents.
The fistfight began about 8:45 a.m. with shouting so loud security officers could hear it at the first-floor entrance to the Courthouse. Every sheriff's officer in the Courthouse responded to the fight as numerous city officers pulled up outside the building.
Someone pushed one of the many panic buttons found in Courthouse offices, sending a radio message summoning officers in the building. The four men arrested resisted efforts by officers to separate them.
Michael Garcia, at 5-foot-11 and 255 pounds, was described in a sheriff's report as a "raging bull" who tried to rejoin the fight after being cuffed by officers. Officer Michael Vaughn then blasted Garcia in the face with two bursts of pepper spray, some of which splashed security officer Brett Dubach in the eye.
Yakelinee Martinez, a victim assistance worker who was accompanying the Garcias, suffered an injury to her arm when she was accidentally punched by an unknown combatant as she tried to break up the fight, according to the police report. Officer Michael Neumann of the sheriff's department suffered a minor injury to his hand.
Both families gave conflicting accounts of what preceded the fight.
Kenneth Knight told police he and Howard Knight, both uncles to Shoemaker, were sitting on a bench outside the courtroom minding their own business when the Garcia brothers approached and began punching them in head and face, according to a sheriff's report. Other witnesses set to testify in the trial verified Kenneth Knight's account. Both Knights were not arrested or charged Monday.
The Garcias' mother, Missy Duran, told police someone in Shoemaker's group made an obscene gesture toward Michael Garcia. He went to confront that person and was shoved, she told police.
Police later said the Garcias mistook Howard Knight for Shoemaker. Howard Knight, who may have suffered a broken jaw, could not be understood when an officer interviewed him at a hospital, police said.
Minutes after the fight, the third floor of the Courthouse was cleared except for court workers while emergency crews tended to the injured and people milled about on the lower floors and out on the green. Howard Knight appeared to be unconscious with blood on his face as firefighters and paramedics put him on a gurney.
When Allen Superior Judge John Surbeck resumed the court session late Monday morning, both sides agreed to delay the trial until January.
While potential jurors were assembled on the first floor of the Courthouse, two floors away from the fight, the ruckus was audible to most in the expansive building and likely heard by the jury pool.
Surbeck said that could have cast doubt on any verdict by the jury and reset the trial to Jan. 26, with a pretrial conference in mid-December. The "extraordinarily unusual" commotion was unlike anything Surbeck had seen in his years around the Courthouse as either a judge or an attorney.
He was quick to offer praise to the Allen County police officers who provide security in the building and who broke up the fight.
"I was very, very impressed," he said of the police response.
The commotion didn't end at the Courthouse. Monday afternoon, police went to Shoemaker's brother's home on Taylor Street for a call involving a dead cat displayed on the porch. Police think someone put the animal, which was nailed to a piece of wood, there overnight, police spokesman Scott Tegtmeyer said.
Fredrick Shoemaker told officers that there was a shooting at his home and that his brother was on trial in connection with the shooting, Tegtmeyer said.
Amanda Iacone of The Journal Gazette contributed to this story.
rgreen@jg.netjeffwiehe@jg.net