Cleared man facing weapons charge

ELYRIA — An Elyria man will have to sit through another trial on whether he illegally had a gun during an Oct. 11 incident in Oberlin that left him with a bullet in his leg.

Andrew Davison was cleared by a jury earlier this week of felonious assault and other charges stemming from the incident, in which police accused him of shooting another man during a fight.

Davison had wanted Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge to determine whether he was guilty of two counts of having weapons under disability, but a form waiving his right to a jury trial was never filled out.

Paul Griffin, who was Davison’s trial attorney, said that although Davison agreed to have Burge decide his guilt on those charges, for some reason the paperwork was never filled out.

Davison asked for a new lawyer Friday, and Michael Stepanik was appointed to replace Griffin. Stepanik, who is Davison’s fourth lawyer in the case — two others asked to be removed from the case before it went to trial — said he can’t discuss the case until he talks to his new client.

A second man, Morris Alexander, still is awaiting trial in the case.

Prosecutors argued that Davison and Alexander came to a North Main Street home and got in an argument with the people there about giving them a ride to fill up a gas tank.

During his trial, Davison testified that one of the other people there shot him.

Burge refused to lower Davison’s bond at a hearing Friday.

Police: Neighbor invaded man’s home

ELYRIA — A 52-year-old Elyria man was taken to the hospital after he followed a neighbor into his house and assaulted him, according to a police report.

Gary Coates approached a neighbor around 5:44 p.m. Thursday as his neighbor was gathering items from his truck and began “making random statements that did not make any sense,” police said, adding Coates began hitting his neighbor as soon as the neighbor tried to walk away.

Coates followed the neighbor inside his home and continued the assault, pulling pots and pans out of cabinets and hitting his neighbor with them, police said. The neighbor’s wife called police, who took Coates to EMH Regional Medical Center for a mental evaluation.

A warrant for Coates’ arrest charging him with burglary was issued Friday by Elyria Municipal Court.

When music stopped, the cuffs went on

LORAIN — At least six women who didn’t like the music at a downtown bar started a fight early Friday.

Ronda Hilton, 36, owner of the Boathouse Bar at 537 Broadway, flagged police down and said six women who “seemed to be upset with the choice of music that the deejay was playing” started a fight, according to a police report.

Hilton closed her bar and kicked everyone out, but the women objected and “charged at her and her staff (including her elderly mother)” and threw a bar stool at her, police said.

Hilton collected license plate numbers of the women involved and intends to hand over surveillance footage as well, police said.

The case remains under investigation.

House checker attacked with knife

LORAIN — A man checking on a family member’s vacant property Thursday was attacked by a man with a knife hiding inside the home, police said.

Wilbur Lewis, 40, was checking on a home in the 800 block of South Central Drive around 7:43 p.m. when he came upon a man in an upstairs closet, according to a police report.

The suspect, described as 5-feet, 6-inches tall, possibly a juvenile male, wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, lunged at Lewis with a knife, police said, adding Lewis told officers he grabbed the suspect, threw him into a wall, grabbed him again and threw him into the upstairs hallway before the suspect fled, dropping the knife near the back door.

The case remains under investigation.

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