Five white men facing felony charges in the beating of a Black man at an Indiana bar last month are due in court today.
Six men were initially arrested in connection with the May 30 incident in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that sent James Simmons, a Black man, to the hospital, but one of the men arrested told Black News & Views that he was able to prove he was not involved. His charges were dismissed.
The incident at Pike’s Pub, a bar outside of Fort Wayne, was captured on video and shared widely on social media. In the tape, several white men are seen ambushing Simmons and a racial slur is heard multiple times. The FBI is assisting in the investigation.
Five of the men arrested were working or at home when detained, while one was hiding out at a rural lake property near the Indiana-Michigan border, according to the office of Allen County, Indiana, Sheriff Troy Hershberger.
All are charged with felony battery resulting in serious bodily injury and felony criminal recklessness, according to Allen County, Indiana, Superior Court records. They are Jerrad Impton, Ryan Minick, Christopher Yoho, and Douglas Zuber, all of Fort Wayne, and Justin Wert of Churubusco, Indiana.
Only Allen County Jail records for Minick could be located. He was being held Monday on no bond
None of the men arrested could be reached and it could not be determined whether any of them have defense lawyers. There was no record of any of them being held at the Allen County Jail in Fort Wayne.
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Simmons has not responded to requests for comment.
Kent Adamonis, the Fort Wayne man whose charges were dismissed, said the incident has created a nightmare for him.
“I wasn’t there and I proved I wasn’t there,” Adamonis said, saying he regrets that now the entire country thinks he’s a racist.
“The fight started at 11 and I was clearly asleep by then,” he said, adding, “They took me straight to jail.”
Allen County Sheriff Troy Hershberger said in a statement that the arrest came about as the result of several jurisdictions and agencies working together.
