An Allen County jury on Tuesday convicted Tommie Jefferson on felony counts of kidnapping and felonious assault for allegedly abusing his former girlfriend and holding her against her will nearly a year ago. Jurors found the Lima man not guilty of aggravated burglary.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — After hearing two widely differing versions of events surrounding a September 2022 assault, jurors in the trial of Tommie Jefferson Jr. sided with the victim on two of three counts and found the Lima man guilty of kidnapping and felonious assault for holding his former girlfriend against her will and assaulting her nearly a year ago.
Jurors acquitted Jefferson on a count of aggravated burglary related to his unwanted entry into the victim’s home. Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser ordered a pre-sentence investigation and set a sentencing hearing for Oct. 12.
Prosecutors maintained throughout the trial that Jefferson, 39, broke into the Sherman Avenue home of Sharon Epley, assaulted her repeatedly and restrained her from leaving the residence. Epley testified Monday that she left a part time job at the Village Cafe in Cridersville at 1:30 a.m. that day and went to Sportscasters bar on Findlay Road in Lima for a brief birthday celebration for a friend. She said she had did not know Jefferson would be at the bar.
Inside the establishment an argument ensued between the woman and Jefferson, she said, prompting her to leave and return to her home. She said Jefferson was intoxicated when he arrived at her residence later that morning and entered the home uninvited. She said he assaulted her numerous times, causing visible bruising to her eyes, nose, chin, neck and arms and threatening to kill her.
Taking the witness stand in his own defense Tuesday morning, Jefferson told jurors a story that could hardly have been more of a polar opposite than the one told by Epley.
Jefferson maintained he was the victim in the case and Epley was the aggressor. He testified that he and Epley left Sportscasters bar together on the morning of Sept. 4 and went together to a friend’s home before arriving at the Sherman Avenue residence. Once there, he said, the woman began to aggressively question him about a female who had approached him at Sportscasters.
“We argued and then I ignored her and she smacked me in the face and scratched me on the forehead. I was bleeding hard,” Jefferson said.
“Did you hit her or grab her?” asked defense attorney Kenneth Rexford.
“No,” Jefferson said.
“Then what happened?” Rexford asked.
“She went to bed … and asked me to join her. We went to sleep and got up the next morning,” Jefferson replied.
Epley admitted from the witness stand Monday that she had lied to investigators and also under oath during a preliminary hearing about some of the events leading up to her alleged physical abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. Rexford focused on those inconsistencies during his closing remarks to jurors.
“She lied about going to Sportscasters. She lied about having sex with the defendant. The problem with the state’s case is the proof. You (jurors) are here not to determine what happened but rather to determine whether the state has proven what happened beyond a reasonable doubt,” the attorney said.
Assistant Allen County Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Thines asked jurors not to focus on “trivial lies that have nothing to do with anything” and to use “common sense and reason” to find Jefferson guilty.
“This case is clearly a credibility issue (and) the defense has tried to muddy the waters. But the testimony and evidence do not support the defendant’s version of events,” Thines said.
