Reno, Ohio

From the Marietta Times of April 19, 2007

Local jury acquits Reno man of assault

A Washington County jury decided Wednesday a Reno man was justified in clubbing his nephew and firing a gun at a vehicle outside his residence last August.

Mark W. Dunn, 54, of 65 Shady Hill Road, Reno, had faced up to 32 years in prison and $60,000 in fines after he was charged with assaulting his nephew, Jason Dunn, 20, of Marietta, and firing a gun at the man’s vehicle as it pulled from his residence.

Mark Dunn said his nephew arrived at his home drunk and with two friends around 2 a.m. Aug. 28 looking to settle a dispute. He claimed self-defense for clubbing the man and for later firing a gun.

Assistant Washington County Prosecutor Susan Vessels argued Dunn had a responsibility to walk away from the fight. She accused Mark Dunn of not fighting fair by bringing weapons to the fight.

“We can’t live in a society where we let people take the law into their own hands,” Vessels said. “We can’t live in a county where we let people take clubs and guns to a fist fight.”

Mark Dunn testified he tried to convince his belligerent nephew to peacefully leave his residence. When that failed, he said he tried to back the man away from his home with a club. He said that’s when Jason Dunn knocked him to the ground. While still on the ground, Mark Dunn said he began swinging a club at the man’s legs.

“It had no effect,” Mark Dunn said.

As he started to stand, Mark Dunn said his nephew drew his fist back to strike him. That’s when he struck him on top of the head with the club.

“He was towering over me,” Mark Dunn said. “I was going to get hurt. He’s no kid anymore. He’s a big guy.”

Dunn’s attorneys, Rolf Baumgartel and Bill Burton, said Jason Dunn was several inches taller and about 100 pounds heavier than their client at the time of the fight.

After striking Jason Dunn on the head, Mark Dunn said his nephew staggered back and fell against a car. As he went to check on him, he said two other men he hadn’t seen before came at him — one with a stick.

“I asked him what he thought he was going to do with that ... He said, ‘I’m going to defend myself.’ That’s when I said ‘to hell with this, I’m going to get my gun,” Dunn said. “It was three against one. There was two standing and one on the ground and I knew he was going to be getting up soon and that he was going to be double-mad.”

After grabbing a .22 rifle from inside his home, Mark Dunn said he came back out looking for the three men. He said he walked up behind their vehicle when he heard his nephew instruct the driver to run him down with the car.

“I thought they were going to squash me in my own driveway,” Mark Dunn said. “I tried to shoot the tires out. I wanted the car to stop. I was shooting at the tires, not the car.”

After two full days of testimony, the jury of 11 women and one man deliberated for about five hours before reaching the verdict.

Baumgartel said people have an absolute right to defend themselves.

“When you go to someone’s home at 2:15 in the morning and you get hurt — that’s just too bad,” Baumgartel said. “Jason Dunn didn’t just exercise bad judgment, he broke the law.”