bubba

Grand Jury To Consider Boone County Beating Case




Joseph Pierce Police described a brutal beating in court today that has left a Boone County man unconscious for more than a week.



Joseph Pierce faces first degree assault charges for what police say was his routine... drinking and picking fights.



(My nephew) is in intensive care with multiple skull fractures. His friend, , is awaiting surgery for a broken cheekbone.



Local 12's Joe Webb was in the courtroom today.



Bubbas  family says they aren't sure what the future holds for George. They say doctors tell them he has some brain damage from the beating he took outside a Hebron bar ten days ago. The man, police say, beat him and a friend is still locked up and his case is now headed to a Boone County Grand Jury.



In cuffs and shackles, Joseph Pierce listened as Detective Tracy Watson described a brutal beating outside the Briarwood reception hall. She says Bubba and friend were leaving at closing time when Pierce made a crack about Bubba's long, blonde hair. Watson says Bubba threw no punches and tried to walk away, but Pierce hit him and knocked him to the ground.



Det. Tracy Watson, Boone County Sheriff's Office: "Witnesses say, then Mr. Bubba fell to the ground, Mr. Pierce jumped on him, stomping and kicking him repeatedly about the head and face and chest area."



The detective says, by the time two people pulled Pierce off of him, Bubba had suffered 3 skull fractures, a collapsed lung and four fractures to his eye socket. She says doctors removed a piece of his skull to relieve pressure on his brain.



Tonight on Local 12 Live at 6 pm, we'll talk to Bubba's parents who just can't believe how their lives changed so quickly.



Boone County District Judge Michael Collins bound the case over to the grand jury. Joseph Pierce is being held in the Boone County Jail on 50-thousand dollars bond.