01/10/14 Judge Robert O. Bowen sentenced Mark Selner today (January 9) to six years imprisonment after a Marshall County jury on October 23 convicted the 32 year old Plymouth man of battery as a Class C felony. Bowen also sentenced Selner to maximum terms of imprisonment of three years each on unrelated charges of theft from Walmart, theft from Tractor Supply, and possession of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine precursors, and possession of a controlled substance. Those sentences were ordered to run concurrently with each other and concurrently with the battery sentence.
The case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Nelson Chipman and consisted of two days of testimony and numerous exhibits, including a video tape of the altercation in the Marshall County Jail. On February 9, 2013, Selner was accused of beating James Haddox, both inmates in the county jail awaiting disposition of charges previously filed against them. Testimony came from Jail employees Mary Ann Martin, James Ore, and Chief Jailer Michael Mattern. A St. Joseph Regional Medical Center emergency room nurse testified to the extent and nature of Haddox’s injuries and his treatment. Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Larry Snyder testified about Haddox’s state of consciousness as he transported him to the hospital. Haddox was brought from the Westville Correctional Center to testify about his injuries and the few things he could remember.
Selner argued he acted in self-defense. Chipman emphasized to the jury that the video showed Selner sucker punched Haddox and inflicted a total of 22 blows within the space of 19 seconds. At least seventeen of the blows were struck while Haddox was laying on the jail floor. Haddox suffered a gaping wound to the head requiring 8 staples, an MRI, and pain medication. The jury rejected Selner’s claim of self-defense. Judge Bowen did impose purposeful incarceration and ordered Selner to undergo intensive drug treatment.
