LIMA — Jurors were seated and testimony got underway Monday in the trial of a Lima man accused of attacking his victim with a baseball bat in what was described as a drug deal gone bad.
Scott Seitz, 41, is charged with aggravated robbery and felonious assault, felonies of the first- and second-degree, respectively, for an Oct. 8 attack on Eric Glover outside a West McKibben Street residence. Court records described the incident as a dispute over an earlier drug transaction between the two.
Jurors in the case heard from the victim, an admitted one-time user and dealer of methamphetamine, who described how Seitz violently swung a baseball bat and struck his arm during a drug sale that went inexplicably awry.
“He would have hit me in the face if I hadn’t got my arm up,” Glover testified as the trial’s first witness.
The attack, he said, took place outside a residence at 546 W.McKibben St., Lima. Glover said he had gone to the residence to deliver meth to Seitz when the man came around the house with the bat and charged at Glover.
“After I got hit, I took off running, and I threw a bag containing 6 ounces of meth at his (Seitz’s) feet” in the hope of avoiding further physical harm, Glover testified. Seitz took the bag of drugs — worth approximately $150 — and did not pay for the drugs, Glover said.
While that encounter was taking place, Glover testified, he saw two individuals — one male and one female — rifling through his car. The pair eventually drove off in Glover’s car, and Seitz left the McKibben Street property in his own vehicle. Glover went to the nearby Landing Strip bar and called 911. While he later admitted he was selling meth to support his own drug habit, Glover also testified that he initially lied to police by saying he was selling marijuana at the time of the incident.
According to court documents, police subsequently learned that Seitz resided on Lakewood Avenue and went there in an attempt to locate the suspect in the attack. As police attempted to arrest him, Seitz reportedly told officers to shoot him. Instead they deployed a Taser and wrestled him to the ground. A subsequent search of the premises yielded drug paraphernalia, suspected methamphetamine residue and a loaded AR-15 assault rifle.
According to court records, a witness told police Michael Wireman, 41, of Lima, and Seitz had conspired to attack Glover, who Seitz felt had “cheated” him in an earlier drug deal.
Testimony in Seitz’s trial is to resume Tuesday morning in Allen County Common Pleas Court.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
