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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Castillo trial: Man hit by baseball testifies about pain and injuries
DAYTON — For nine days after the baseball slammed into his left temple, Christopher McCarthy suffered from a throbbing headache, McCarthy testified Tuesday afternoon, July 21.
McCarthy, 45, of Middletown, was taken from Fifth Third Field to Miami Valley Hospital, where he was treated for a concussion. Julio Castillo, a pitcher formerly with the Peoria Chiefs is charged with two counts of felonious assault in the incident.
Castillo, 22, who is from the Dominican Republic, is on trial this week before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Connie S. Price.
McCarthy testified that he rode home with his eyes closed because of the pain.
“By that time, I had a very severe headache,” McCarthy said during questioning by assistant county prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman. “The pain increased through the night. As the evening went on, it got worse.”
McCarthy had been sitting with his wife, his 7-year-old son and his nephew just above the Dayton Dragons dugout on July 24, 2008 when a brawl started on the field. At one point, Castillo ran off the mound and hurled a baseball toward the dugout, but it went high, according to prosecutors.
McCarthy said he saw the ball come toward him, but did not have time to react. The ball took out some of his hair and the stitching left marks on his scalp.
He did not lose consciousness, but “I was a little bit incoherent. I was not thinking clearly,” McCarthy said.
He could not read for the first three days and “I basically sat in dim light and tried to sleep,” he said.
He was able to do a little bit of work on the fourth day, but was not able to fully return until after nine days. Even then, he was limited, he said. McCarthy is a mechanical engineer who works in paper mills, and his head swelled up so much that his hard hat would not fit on his head,” McCarthy said.
During cross examination by defense attorney Dennis Lieberman, McCarthy said he had hired an attorney to pursue a civil lawsuit.
McCarthy also told Tangeman that he suffered from panic attacks starting in 1998, though they have been rare during the past seven years. He said he had one after he was struck by the ball.
“I was afraid of dying,” McCarthy said.
Prosecutors said Castillo was acting with anger when he threw the ball, and his intent was to hurt a member of the Dayton Dragons.
Lieberman told Price that Castillo did not intend to hurt anyone. As Dragons players, reacting to the brawl on the field, began to run out from the dugout, Castillo threw the ball toward netting in front of the dugout to keep them from joining the fight. The reason, Lieberman said, is that Castillo only speaks Spanish.
Castillo threw to ball to communicate to the Dragons that they should stay back, since he could not communicate verbally, but the ball sailed over the dugout and hit the spectator, Lieberman said.
The charges are second-degree felonies, each punishable by up to eight years in prison and a $15,000 fine. The indictments list “a baseball” as the weapon.
He has waived his right to a jury trial, meaning that Price will decide whether prosecutors have proven him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which is why the attorneys directed their opening statements to her.
Video of the fight showed Castillo throwing a baseball toward the Dragons’ dugout.
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Former Peoria pitcher’s felonious assault trial starts
DAYTON — The man who was struck by former Peoria Chiefs baseball pitcher Julio Castillo’s throw into the stands at Fifth Third Field suffered a concussion and had marks from the ball’s stitching in his scalp, an assistant Montgomery County prosecutor said Tuesday, July 21.
“This defendant, Julio Castillo, made a decision and he acted on that decision,” assistant county prosecutor Jon Marshall told Common Pleas Judge Connie Price. “He decided that he was going to hurt someone, anyone.”
Marshall said Castillo was acting with anger when he threw the ball that hit Chris McCarthy, of Middletown. His intent was to hurt a member of the Dayton Dragons, but he missed the dugout, Marshall said.
The ball hit McCarthy, who was sitting with his wife, son and nephew, “square in the temple, the must vulnerable part of the head,” Marshall said.
But defense attorney Dennis Lieberman told Price that Castillo did not intend to hurt anyone. As Dragons players, reacting to a brawl on the field, began to run out from the dugout, Castillo threw the ball toward netting in front of the dugout to keep them from joining the fight.
The reason, Lieberman said, is that Castillo, who is from the Dominican Republic, only speaks Spanish. Castillo sat quietly, listening to his interpreter during his attorney’s statement.
Castillo threw to ball to communicate to the Dragons that they should stay back, since he could not communicate verbally, but the ball sailed over the dugout and hit the spectator, Lieberman said.
“For which he is truly sorry,” Lieberman said. “He wasn’t throwing it at an individual.”
Lieberman also denied that Castillo was angry, but instead was frustrated with his own performance in the game, during which he beaned two batters and broke the leg of his team’s second baseman during a botched play.
“Julio was perhaps frustrated, but he wasn’t angry with the Dragons,” Lieberman said.
Castillo, 22, is charged with two counts of felonious assault. The charges are second-degree felonies, each punishable by up to eight years in prison and a $15,000 fine. The indictments list “a baseball” as the weapon.
He has waived his right to a jury trial, meaning that Price will decide whether prosecutors have proven him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which is why the attorneys directed their opening statements to her.
The brawl started when Chiefs interim manager Carmelo Martinez left his dugout to argue with Dragons manager Donnie Scott. When Martinez pushed Scott, the benches emptied.
Video of the fight showed Castillo throwing a baseball toward the Dragons’ dugout.
Martinez and Scott along with eight Dragons and seven Chiefs players were suspended by the Midwest League. Castillo was suspended for 60 games and fined $1,000. He already had been removed from Peoria’s roster.
