By David Hedges, Publisher
Times Record-Roane County Reporter
An Arnoldsburg man charged with dragging a police officer down the street with his vehicle just before the Black Walnut Festival Kid's Day parade was convicted of two misdemeanor offenses.
A jury in Roane Circuit Court found Aaron E. Lloyd, 25, not guilty of a felony charge of fleeing from an officer in a vehicle causing injury.
Jurors did find Lloyd guilty of battery on a police officer, which has a maximum penalty of up to one year in jail, and a related charge.
In a one-day trial, jurors heard from six witnesses called by prosecutor Josh Downey including bystanders Jeff Fetty, Annette Sanchez, William Gross, Mike Allen and Rodney Coon, all of whom were on Main Street waiting for the parade to begin in October 2009.
The officer, Lt. Clint Wilson of the Spencer Police department suffered from a scraped knee, bruises to his arm and a cut finger. He told jurors that Lloyd was spinning his tires on Main Street just before the parade was to start. Wilson said he asked Lloyd to stop three times and, when he failed to respond, reached inside the car to turn off the ignition.
At that point, Lloyd accelerated. Wilson was dragged about 30 yards down the street with his arm caught inside the vehicle.
Lloyd, represented by public defender Teresa Monk, testified in his own defense and said he did not realize it was a police officer that reached inside his car. He said he thought it was someone else trying to hurt him.
The six-man, six-woman jury began deliberations around 4 p.m. and returned shortly after 5 p.m. with guilty verdicts on two misdemeanor charges and not guilty in the felony case.
Roane Circuit Judge David Nibert set sentencing for Sept. 29.
because the crime involved violence, Nibert granted Downey's request that Lloyd be placed on home confinement while awaiting sentencing.
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