James Michael Abbott talks with his lawyer Don Blair in court yesterday as his trial begins.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Gary Dvojack and his wife moved from Spokane to retire in Chehalis so he could hunt and fish but now he’s in a nursing home; he can’t walk, he can barely speak and he can’t take care of himself, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher told a jury yesterday.
He’s in wheelchair now, and the only reason is because of what happened last November at the Star Tavern, Meagher said.
Dvojack was very drunk when he walked into the Chehalis bar, Meagher continued.
“(Mr. Dvojack) got into an argument with Mr. Abbott, and Mr. Abbott shoved him so hard, Mr. Dvojack fell back and hit his head on the concrete floor,” he said.
His skull was cracked.
Meagher was speaking to a jury in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday morning where James Michael Abbott is on trial for second-degree assault.
Chehalis police arrested Abbott, 49, about a week after the Nov. 30 incident at the watering hole on Northwest Chehalis Avenue in Chehalis. At the time, 65-year-old Dvojack remained unconscious and on life support, according to police.
A jury of five men and seven women are hearing the testimony in a trial that is expected to last into tomorrow.
Meagher spent only about 10 minutes yesterday making his opening statements in the Chehalis courtroom.
He described Dvojack as a drunk old man who made inappropriate comments to the female bartender and told jurors when they see the scene on the security video, they will see Dvojack put the back of his hand on Abbott, and then Abbott using two hands, “launching” Dvojack back several feet.
While the bartender Laurie A. Rager told 911 Abbott told her Dvojack pushed him first, Meagher said, the video will show she had her head down behind the bar and didn’t see it.
“What you’re gonna see might be different from you hear,” Meagher said.
Defense attorney Don Blair spoke to the jurors for about 10 minutes as well.
His client is a longtime resident who used to own a business that sold communications electronics, Blair said.
Abbott went to the tavern to look at the newspaper and watch a Husky game on their big screen television, Blair said. He and others were helping the bartender with her college math homework, he said.
Dvojack had propositioned the bartender, using the F-word and offering her $100, he said.
The bartender is telling Dvojack he’s kicked out; and Abbott is tells Dvojack “why don’t you just leave”, he said.
Dvojack gets more aggressive, Blair says.
“You’ll see in the video, Mr. Dvojack reaches out and hits Mike’s arm,” he said.
He does push him, Blair said.
“And he falls down and hits his head and got injured,” Blair said. “And Mike feels bad about that.”
Was it reasonable?, Blair asks.
“When Mike pushes him, was that push reasonable?” he said. “That’s really the question here.”
The crime charged involves intentional assault and recklessly causing substantial harm; prosecutors are alleging an aggravating circumstance that the victim suffered extreme injuries that are long term.
What jurors won’t hear, is that police arrested the bartender, Rager, for lying. Meagher said he resolved that case; by continuing it.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter