Ybarra Stabbing Trial Set To Begin
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
After a year-long wait and extradition from Texas, David Ybarra is going to trial today for battery with a deadly weapon.
Ybarra, 35, allegedly stabbed a bartender during a fight outside The Post, Pierceton, on Sept. 17, 1995. Ybarra was arrested and released on bond, then fled to Donna, Texas. His original trial was scheduled for March 17, 1997, but he did not return.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department reported they had Ybarra in custody on March 4 and Kosciusko Superior Court scheduled the trial for today.
Jury selection was held this morning, and deputy prosecutor Byron Tinkey said he would be "surprised" if there was trouble finding a jury from the 32-person pool.
Ybarra is charged with battery, a Class C felony, for allegedly stabbing Greg Alfano.
Two bartenders, Bill King and Alfano, reportedly went outside the front entrance of The Post to break up a fight. Both men were stabbed, Alfano in the back and King in the shoulder, and required treatment at Kosciusko Community Hospital. According to police reports, the fight started earlier inside The Post and continued when the participants were told to leave the bar.
A Pierceton Police Department officer later reported there were approximately 20 people involved in the fight, with as many people standing around the action shouting. The deputy was forced to use pepper spray to stop the fight.
The officer reported he was on routine patrol driving down a nearby alley when he saw a man staggering down the alley. As he drove closer, he saw blood on the man's back and called for an ambulance.
Tinkey said Alfano is expected to testify today that he entered the fight and was holding one man to stop him when Alfano was stabbed in the back. Alfano allegedly turned around and saw the man with the knife, later identified as Ybarra. Alfano then ran down the alley where he found Jeff Larsen.
While Alfano was being treated in the ambulance, police brought a man up to the ambulance for Alfano to see.
Alfano reportedly "immediately and positively (identified) him," Tinkey said. The man was allegedly identified as Ybarra.
"I think the testimony (will be) really strong," Tinkey said of the upcoming trial.
Tinkey said the prosecution is planning to call a witness who allegedly admitted to stabbing King. The witness also reportedly told police he gave Ybarra a knife and later the two allegedly hid it after the altercation. [[In-content Ad]]
After a year-long wait and extradition from Texas, David Ybarra is going to trial today for battery with a deadly weapon.
Ybarra, 35, allegedly stabbed a bartender during a fight outside The Post, Pierceton, on Sept. 17, 1995. Ybarra was arrested and released on bond, then fled to Donna, Texas. His original trial was scheduled for March 17, 1997, but he did not return.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department reported they had Ybarra in custody on March 4 and Kosciusko Superior Court scheduled the trial for today.
Jury selection was held this morning, and deputy prosecutor Byron Tinkey said he would be "surprised" if there was trouble finding a jury from the 32-person pool.
Ybarra is charged with battery, a Class C felony, for allegedly stabbing Greg Alfano.
Two bartenders, Bill King and Alfano, reportedly went outside the front entrance of The Post to break up a fight. Both men were stabbed, Alfano in the back and King in the shoulder, and required treatment at Kosciusko Community Hospital. According to police reports, the fight started earlier inside The Post and continued when the participants were told to leave the bar.
A Pierceton Police Department officer later reported there were approximately 20 people involved in the fight, with as many people standing around the action shouting. The deputy was forced to use pepper spray to stop the fight.
The officer reported he was on routine patrol driving down a nearby alley when he saw a man staggering down the alley. As he drove closer, he saw blood on the man's back and called for an ambulance.
Tinkey said Alfano is expected to testify today that he entered the fight and was holding one man to stop him when Alfano was stabbed in the back. Alfano allegedly turned around and saw the man with the knife, later identified as Ybarra. Alfano then ran down the alley where he found Jeff Larsen.
While Alfano was being treated in the ambulance, police brought a man up to the ambulance for Alfano to see.
Alfano reportedly "immediately and positively (identified) him," Tinkey said. The man was allegedly identified as Ybarra.
"I think the testimony (will be) really strong," Tinkey said of the upcoming trial.
Tinkey said the prosecution is planning to call a witness who allegedly admitted to stabbing King. The witness also reportedly told police he gave Ybarra a knife and later the two allegedly hid it after the altercation. [[In-content Ad]]