Faces firearms charges

 

A local attorney allegedly assaulted in a bar fight in July was recently indicted by a Lawrence County grand jury on firearms charges.

The indictment, filed Dec. 16, charges Jason Smith, 39, of 116 N. Sixth St., Ironton, with third-degree counts of having weapons under a disability and illegal possession of a firearm in a liquor permit premises.

According to an Ironton Police Department report, officers were dispatched to the Fuzzy Duck on Center Street in reference to a fight on July 21. Officer Adam Koch wrote in the report that when he arrived on the scene, Smith was “laying on the floor with blood pouring from his ears and not very responsive.”

When Koch approached Smith, according to the report, he noticed a .32 caliber handgun in the waistband of his pants.

Smith was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center Ironton Campus to be treated for his injuries.

IPD arrested Robert Harper, 37, of 2480 County Road 181, Ironton, for the alleged assault.

Harper was indicted and subsequently arraigned in September on a second-degree count of felonious assault, to which he pleaded not guilty.

Harper’s trial is scheduled for Jan. 6.

Smith declined to comment on the case and deferred any future comments to his attorney, Jeremy Dodgion.

John Haas is special prosecutor for the case.

An indictment is a formal allegation that an individual has committed a crime.

The accused are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.