A jury acquitted a Lake Station man on all counts Thursday after he punched a man who fell, hit his head and later died.
Jeremy Davis, 43, was charged in 2021 with aggravated battery and battery resulting in serious bodily injury in Allen Flores’ death. Prosecutors added involuntary manslaughter in January 2024. Jurors deliberated for about an hour.
The outcome showed anyone “had the right to defend themselves,” defense lawyer Robert Varga said after the verdict, adding they were “very pleased the jury recognized that.”
Davis and his now-fiancé Stephanie Martinez were sitting in a vehicle in front of their apartment in a vehicle smoking marijuana on Nov. 13, 2021, on the 2800 block of DeKalb Street in Lake Station. The local watering hole, Kimmie’s Pub & Grub, was across the street, court records show.
When they saw Flores walking down their street, toward the bar, Davis tried to roll up his window, and Flores put his hand over it to block him. Martinez said Flores was first angry he wouldn’t hand over the marijuana cigarette.
Flores punched Davis and spat on him. Davis got out of the vehicle and hit Flores once, who fell. Martinez testified Wednesday she tried to get out of the car to stop him but it was over quickly. She went to the bar for help. They figured he would wake up.
Deputy Prosecutor Lindsey Lanham told Judge Natalie Bokota during discussions on jury instructions that Davis was a “willing participant” in what happened.
Later, she told jurors in closing arguments that Davis had a reason to punch Flores, who was a regular at the bar, telling cops he was “on strike three with a lot of people.”
He was “the one guy who finally got (him) to shut up,” she said.
Varga in closing arguments told jurors they had a test to show someone could punch a guy harassing him without fearing it would be prosecuted as a major crime.
“Yes, it is possible to go too far,” he said. “One punch isn’t unreasonable.”
Varga argued that a county forensic pathologist said Flores’ blood alcohol content was .319 and the wounds were “superficial” – leaving it uncertain what caused his death.
Do not fill in “gaps” and “blanks” that prosecutors can’t explain, he told jurors.
Deputy Prosecutor Shannon Phillips tried the case with Lanham. Defense lawyer Tom Olson assisted Varga.
mcolias@post-trib.com
