Two charged with involuntary manslaughter appear in court

Jasper — Two men charged with involuntary manslaughter appeared in Dubois County Circuit Court on Monday.

Last week, Leslie M. Osborn Jr. and Zachary D. Parks were both charged with Class C felony involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of 41-year-old Timothy R. Stafford, of Dubois. Stafford died after being involved in a fight with the two men at J.R.’s Bar Saturday, October 12. That report follows this update.

Parks and Osborn appeared in front of Judge William Weikert on Monday at 9 a.m. The two were joined by a crowd of family and friends in the courtroom while Judge Weikert explained the charges being brought against them.

Weikert explained the basis for the charges against both men and asked them if they understood the charges to which the men both acknowledged their understanding.

Weikert told them Class C felony involuntary manslaughter carried a maximum sentence of eight years and a minimum of two years; the state recommended sentence is a minimum of four years.

Both men asked for a court-appointed attorney or pauper council, but Weikert, after hearing both men were gainfully employed, told the man they were responsible for acquiring legal council.

Weikert also explained the conditions of the two men’s bail; neither can consume alcohol nor can they make any contact with the victim’s family.

The men are scheduled to be back in front of Weikert for their pre-trial on November 4 at 10 a.m.[hr]

Jasper police arrested two Petersburg men on Class C felony involuntary manslaughter charges Thursday afternoon.

Leslie M. Osborn Jr., 23, of West County Road 130, and Zachary D. Parks, 22, of E. State Road 356, were involved in a fight outside J.R.’s Bar at 23 S. Clay Street Saturday morning.

According to police, they received a call from the owner of J.R.’s Bar at about 3 a.m. stating that there had been a physical altercation outside the bar and a man, Tim R. Stafford, 41, of Dubois, was lying on the ground and was unresponsive and not breathing. When police and emergency medical personal arrived on scene, they found Stafford on the ground bleeding from his nose and mouth. Stafford was not breathing and was still unresponsive.

He was taken by ambulance to Memorial Hospital and then transferred to St. Mary’s Medical Center by LifeFlight helicopter where he stayed until he was pronounced dead at 7:20 p.m. CDT on Wednesday.

An autopsy performed on Friday by the Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office determined Stafford died of blunt force trauma to his head.

Initial responders notified Jasper Police Department detective Sgt. Rick Chambers, who responded to the scene of the fight within an hour of it being reported to the police department. Officers began to collect evidence and interviewed witnesses at the scene to attempt to recreate the events that had occurred leading up to Stafford’s final condition.

According to Chambers, the investigation revealed that two unnamed individuals originally walked out of J.R.’s Bar and began to have a verbal and physical altercation. Parks, Osborn, and Stafford went outside while the fight was happening. Parks and Osborn were friends with one of the men in the altercation and Stafford was a friend of the other unnamed man.

Once outside Stafford attempted to intervene in the fight and was confronted by Osborn. The two began to fight and witnesses say Osborn punched Stafford in the face at least twice before the fight was broken up by the owner of J.R.’s Bar. At that point, Stafford walked over to Parks and attempted to punch him but Parks punched him back, rendering Stafford unconscious.

According to evidence and witness testimony, once Stafford was on the ground, Parks got on top of his unconscious body and began to strike him repeatedly in the face. Bystanders attempted to get Parks to stop by telling him that Stafford was unconscious but Parks continued punching him.

According to witnesses, Osborn also struck Stafford in his torso while he was on the ground unconscious and not breathing. Eventually, Parks and Osborn were separated from Stafford and the Jasper Police Department was notified.

The two men were booked into the Dubois County Security Center at about 4 p.m. and each man posted a $1,000 cash bond later in the afternoon.

The incident is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the Jasper Police Department and speak with detective Sgt. Rick Chambers at 482-2255.

The Jasper Police Department was assisted by the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department, Pike County Sheriff’s Department, and the Dubois County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in the investigation.