Shooting victim: 'He just pulled the trigger' WATCH THE VIDEO
Lead Summary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
A Hillsboro man testified Wednesday about how a gun was put to his head and the trigger was pulled, permanently blinding him in one eye, and causing life-threatening injuries, following an alleged dispute with a neighbor over a $2,000 loan.
Jonathan Harris, 28, testified in Highland County Common Pleas Court that Jimmie Jacobs, 65, entered his Hillsboro on Dec. 15, 2010, and shot him in the face.
Jacobs was indicted in March on one count of attempted murder with a gun specification, a felony of the first degree; one count of felonious assault with a gun specification, a felony of the second degree; and one count of aggravated burglary with a gun specification, a felony of the first degree.
The state, represented by Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins, alleges that on Dec. 15, 2010, Jacobs entered the home of Harris, located at 63 Belfast Pike, and shot him. The apartment is located in the same structure as J and J Automotive.
The defense, represented by attorney Jim Boulger, alleges that Harris had threatened Jacobs and his wife, and that Harris is the one who pulled the gun during a dispute. Bougler has alleged that Jacobs knocked the gun away with his cane, and then fell into the weapon, and it went off.
The case is being presided over by Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss.
In addition to Harris's testimony Wednesday, jurors also heard from witnesses at the scene, forensic scientists, and officers with the Hillsboro Police Department who say that Jacobs confessed to shooting Harris.
When Harris took the stand, he testified that he had become friends with Jacobs while he was living across the street from him on Belfast Pike. He had known him less than a year, Harris said, but they played cards together, and some time around October 2010, Jacobs loaned him $2,000.
On Dec. 15, just before 6 p.m., Harris testified, Jacobs called him and wanted the money back.
"He said he was going to kill me," Harris said. "His speech was jumbled, like maybe he was on something. I said, 'Why would you call someone up and tell them you were going to kill them?' I told him, 'If you're going to do it, just come on over and do it.'"
Harris said that the door to his apartment did not have a lock because a recent fire in the building had made remodeling necessary. Harris said he had been playing on game on his computer when he heard the front door of the automotive shop open. He said he saw Jacobs in the hallway outside his apartment with a gun. Harris said that he had been on the phone with a friend, Mark Puckett, but didn't say anything to him, because he didn't want Jacobs to know he had his phone.
"I saw (Jacobs) walk down the hall with a gun in his hand," Harris said.
Harris said he went inside is apartment, and Jacobs followed.
"He had told me he was going to kill me, and now he's standing there with a gun in his hand," Harris said. "He put a gun to my head. I said, 'Man, if this is about money or something like that, that I owe you, Jim, I'll get you the money.' And he just pulled the trigger."
Two shots were fired, and the first shot struck him, Harris said.
After he was shot, Harris said, he laid down on the floor, and that Jacobs put the gun to the back of his and said, "[Expletive omitted], you're not dead yet."
Collins asked Harris if he could describe what he felt. Harris said silent for a moment and then Collins asked, "Pain?" Harris said yes.
As a result of being shot in the face, Harris said he lost his right eyes, suffered physical and mental pain, and has had to have numerous surgeries. His initial medical treatment, he said, was more than $200,000, and that he has more surgeries scheduled.
In addition to the criminal charges, Jacobs is also involved in a civil suit that Harris filed against him. Harris told the jury that he intends to put the money toward medical bills, because he has no insurance and has not been able to work since the shooting.
On cross examination, Bougler asked Harris if it were true that Harris was the one who actually threatened the life of Jacobs and his wife. Harris said that wasn't true. Boulger asked Harris if it were true that the gun really belonged to him. Harris said that was not true.
"Why would I let him come into my house and shoot me if I had a weapon?" Harris asked.
Bougler asked Harris if he had seen Jacobs before they allegedly spoken on the phone, and Harris said he didn't think so.
"You don't remember paying him $200 that day?" Boulger asked.
"I may have given him $200, but I don't remember when, or how much it was," Harris said.
Boulger asked Harris why certain details he testified to were left out of statements he had given to police, including one statement while he was hospitalized in December, and one in January. When he gave the first statement, Harris said that he could barely write because he was in a great deal of pain and could barely see because his eye was almost swollen shut.
"Has your memory gotten better as time has gone on?" Boulger asked.
"My eye has," Harris said.
Boulger asked, "Has your memory?"
"My memory is just fine, sir. I had just been shot with a high-caliber gun," Harris said.
Boulger began on a line of questioning regarding Harris's alleged drug use, but Collins objected several times, and they were sustained by Coss. Boulger then questioned Harris on his psychiatric history and asked if he was severely depressed prior to the shooting. Collins objected and Coss sustained it.
Boulger asked Harris if he had taken anything on Dec. 15 that would have made it hard for him to remember. Harris said he had not. Boulger then told the court that he would like to make a "proffer."
According to the legal definition of "proffer" it is when testimony is excluded, but an attorney wants to offer it into evidence. Once the jurors had been excused from the courtroom, Boulger made statements onto the court record before Coss and Collins, but they were not public to the entire courtroom.
Before he concluded his cross examination, Boulger asked Harris if he had "bragged" to Jacobs about "things you had done with weapons on earlier occasions?" Collins objected and it was overruled by Coss. Harris said that he had not said such things to Jacobs.
"You're under oath. You understand?" Boulger said.
Harris said he knew he was under oath.
Boulger asked Harris if he would roll up his sleeves, and Collins objected, and Coss sustained it.
Harris was asked by Boulger if he was friends with Jacobs up to Dec. 15, and Harris said yes. Boulger asked if Jacobs had helped out Harris, like with the loan to start a lawn-mowing business, and Harris said yes.
"So, you believe that he somehow just decided to blow your head off on the 15th day of December, for no good reason?" Boulger asked.
"Sir, that is what he did," Harris said.
Jurors also heard testimony from Mark Puckett, who said he was on the phone with Harris when he was shot, and from Brian Holbrook, who was the first person to see Harris after he was shot.
"He had his hand on his face and he was covered in blood," Holbrook said.
Holbrook testified that he had seen Jacobs enter the automotive shop, but did not see him leave. He testified that he did not see Harris with a cane, but he also did not see a gun.
Boulger questioned Holbrook about why he didn't put in his initial written report to police that he had seen Jacobs enter the shop.
"(After seeing Harris covered in blood) I held his hand and prayed for him," Holbrook said. "I'm not an EMT. I didn't know what to do. I was kind of panicking. I'd never seen anything like that before. I was petrified."
Officer Larry Barker, Officer Jeff Murphy, Officer Todd Whited and Sgt. Ron Priest of the Hillsboro Police Department all testified about the investigation.
Priest testified that while he and Murphy questioned Jacobs at the Highland County Justice Center that Jacobs confessed to shooting Harris.
Priest said that he thought the interrogation was being recorded, but it was not. He also said that he offered a statement form and pen to Jacobs, but he wouldn't write anything.
"(Jacobs) said he was scared of no man," Priest testified.
Priest also said that when he was asked about the gun that Jacobs said he had "given it to a friend and that it was two states away and that we would never find it."
The sergeant said Jacobs never indicated that he had a cane, and did not say that the gun belonged to Harris. Priest said Jacobs told him that the gun belonged to his wife, and that it was a chrome .357 revolver.
Following Priest's testimony, the state rested.
The defense will begin presenting its case Thursday morning.
Coss told the jurors that he was "optimistic" that they would be deliberating by Thursday afternoon.
A Hillsboro man testified Wednesday about how a gun was put to his head and the trigger was pulled, permanently blinding him in one eye, and causing life-threatening injuries, following an alleged dispute with a neighbor over a $2,000 loan.
Jonathan Harris, 28, testified in Highland County Common Pleas Court that Jimmie Jacobs, 65, entered his Hillsboro on Dec. 15, 2010, and shot him in the face.
Jacobs was indicted in March on one count of attempted murder with a gun specification, a felony of the first degree; one count of felonious assault with a gun specification, a felony of the second degree; and one count of aggravated burglary with a gun specification, a felony of the first degree.
The state, represented by Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins, alleges that on Dec. 15, 2010, Jacobs entered the home of Harris, located at 63 Belfast Pike, and shot him. The apartment is located in the same structure as J and J Automotive.
The defense, represented by attorney Jim Boulger, alleges that Harris had threatened Jacobs and his wife, and that Harris is the one who pulled the gun during a dispute. Boulger has alleged that Jacobs knocked the gun away with his cane, and then fell into the weapon, causing it to go off.
The case is being presided over by Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss.
In addition to Harris's testimony Wednesday, jurors also heard from witnesses at the scene, forensic scientists, and officers with the Hillsboro Police Department who say that Jacobs confessed to shooting Harris.
When Harris took the stand, he testified that he had become friends with Jacobs while he was living across the street from him on Belfast Pike. He had known him less than a year, Harris said, but they played cards together, and some time around October 2010, Jacobs loaned him $2,000.
On Dec. 15, just before 6 p.m., Harris testified, Jacobs called him and wanted the money back.
"He said he was going to kill me," Harris said. "His speech was jumbled, like maybe he was on something. I said, 'Why would you call someone up and tell them you were going to kill them?' I told him, 'If you're going to do it, just come on over and do it.'"
Harris said that the door to his apartment did not have a lock because a recent fire in the building had made remodeling necessary. Harris said he had been playing a game on his computer when he heard the front door of the automotive shop open. He said he saw Jacobs in the hallway outside his apartment with a gun. Harris said that he had been on the phone with a friend, Mark Puckett, but didn't say anything to him, because he didn't want Jacobs to know he had his phone.
"I saw (Jacobs) walk down the hall with a gun in his hand," Harris said.
Harris said he went inside is apartment, and Jacobs followed.
"He had told me he was going to kill me, and now he's standing there with a gun in his hand," Harris said. "He put a gun to my head. I said, 'Man, if this is about money or something like that, that I owe you, Jim, I'll get you the money.' And he just pulled the trigger."
Two shots were fired, and the first shot struck him, Harris said.
After he was shot, Harris said, he laid down on the floor, and that Jacobs put the gun to the back of his and said, "[Expletive omitted], you're not dead yet."
Collins asked Harris if he could describe what he felt. Harris sat silent for a moment and then Collins asked, "Pain?" and Harris said yes.
As a result of being shot in the face, Harris said he lost his right eyes, suffered physical and mental pain, and has had to have numerous surgeries. His initial medical treatment, he said, was more than $200,000, and that he has more surgeries scheduled.
In addition to the criminal charges, Jacobs is also involved in a civil suit that Harris filed against him. Harris told the jury that he intends to put the money toward medical bills, because he has no insurance and has not been able to work since the shooting.
On cross examination, Boulger asked Harris if it were true that Harris was the one who actually threatened the life of Jacobs and his wife. Harris said that wasn't true. Boulger asked Harris if it were true that the gun really belonged to him. Harris said that was not true.
"Why would I let him come into my house and shoot me if I had a weapon?" Harris asked.
Boulger asked Harris if he had seen Jacobs before they had allegedly spoken on the phone, and Harris said he didn't think so.
"You don't remember paying him $200 that day?" Boulger asked.
"I may have given him $200, but I don't remember when, or how much it was," Harris said.
Boulger asked Harris why certain details he testified to were left out of statements he had given to police, including one statement while he was hospitalized in December, and one in January. When he gave the first statement, Harris said that he could barely write because he was in a great deal of pain and could barely see because his eye was almost swollen shut.
"Has your memory gotten better as time has gone on?" Boulger asked.
"My eye has," Harris said.
Boulger asked, "Has your memory?"
"My memory is just fine, sir. I had just been shot with a high-caliber gun," Harris said.
Boulger began on a line of questioning regarding Harris's alleged drug use, but Collins objected several times, and they were sustained by Coss. Boulger then questioned Harris on his psychiatric history and asked if he was severely depressed prior to the shooting. Collins objected and Coss sustained it.
Boulger asked Harris if he had taken anything on Dec. 15 that would have made it hard for him to remember. Harris said he had not. Boulger then told the court that he would like to make a "proffer."
According to the legal definition of "proffer" it is when testimony is excluded, but an attorney wants to offer it into evidence. Once the jurors had been excused from the courtroom, Boulger made statements onto the court record before Coss and Collins, but they were not public to the entire courtroom.
Before he concluded his cross examination, Boulger asked Harris if he had "bragged" to Jacobs about "things you had done with weapons on earlier occasions?" Collins objected and it was overruled by Coss. Harris said that he had not said such things to Jacobs.
"You're under oath. You understand?" Boulger said.
Harris said he knew he was under oath.
Boulger asked Harris if he would roll up his sleeves, and Collins objected, and Coss sustained it.
Harris was asked by Boulger if he was friends with Jacobs up to Dec. 15, and Harris said yes. Boulger asked if Jacobs had helped out Harris, like with the loan to start a lawn-mowing business, and Harris said yes.
"So, you believe that he somehow just decided to blow your head off on the 15th day of December, for no good reason?" Boulger asked.
"Sir, that is what he did," Harris said.
Jurors also heard testimony from Mark Puckett, who said he was on the phone with Harris when he was shot, and from Brian Holbrook, who was the first person to see Harris after he was shot.
"He had his hand on his face and he was covered in blood," Holbrook said.
Holbrook testified that he had seen Jacobs enter the automotive shop, but did not see him leave. He testified that he did not see Harris with a cane, but he also did not see a gun.
Boulger questioned Holbrook about why he didn't put in his initial written report to police that he had seen Jacobs enter the shop.
"(After seeing Harris covered in blood) I held his hand and prayed for him," Holbrook said. "I'm not an EMT. I didn't know what to do. I was kind of panicking. I'd never seen anything like that before. I was petrified."
Officer Larry Barker, Officer Jeff Murphy, Officer Todd Whited and Sgt. Ron Priest of the Hillsboro Police Department all testified about the investigation.
Priest testified that while he and Murphy questioned Jacobs at the Highland County Justice Center that Jacobs confessed to shooting Harris.
Priest said that he thought the interrogation was being recorded, but it was not. He also said that he offered a statement form and pen to Jacobs, but he wouldn't write anything.
"(Jacobs) said he was scared of no man," Priest testified.
Priest also said that when he was asked about the gun that Jacobs said he had "given it to a friend and that it was two states away and that we would never find it."
The sergeant said Jacobs never indicated that he had a cane, and did not say that the gun belonged to Harris. Priest said Jacobs told him that the gun belonged to his wife, and that it was a chrome .357 revolver.
Following Priest's testimony, the state rested.
The defense will begin presenting its case Thursday morning.
Coss told the jurors that he was "optimistic" that they would be deliberating by Thursday afternoon.
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