Bar Scuffle Leads To Man’s ArrestA Syracuse man is accused of bringing a “monkey fist” to a fist fight outside of a Warsaw bar.
Jeromie Lee Bright, 41, of 709 W. North St., Syracuse, was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail at 4:15 a.m. May 6 and charged with battery while armed with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony; and criminal confinement, a Level 5 felony.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed Monday in Kosciusko Superior Court III, on May 6 Warsaw police were dispatched to a Warsaw bar in reference to a fight taking place.
Upon arrival, police found a man sitting outside rubbing his wrist and who had cuts and bruises.
When police spoke to the man, according to the affidavit, he said he was preparing to leave the bar in his Jeep when Bright rolled up in a Lincoln Navigator, almost causing a collision and blocking the man in.
The victim alleges Bright then jumped out of his SUV and came at him swinging a “monkey fist,” so the victim wrestled Bright onto the ground to try to keep from getting hit.
According to the affidavit, a “monkey fist” is a weapon wielded like a club and is readily capable of causing serious bodily injury. Police allegedly later located the “monkey fist” – a red and black nylon rope with a black tightly wound ball at the end – on the front passenger seat of Bright’s vehicle when they found him.
Back at the bar, police spoke with a witness who said she was driving in the area when she heard the victim yelling for passersby to call law enforcement and she said she also saw the “monkey fist” being swung, according to the affidavit.
When police caught up with Bright, who was allegedly sitting in the parking lot of the county jail, he said he had been out that night looking for his girlfriend and was stopping at several bars trying to find her.
According to court papers, the man had suspicion that the victim in the case was involved with his girlfriend, so when he saw the man outside the bar, he confronted him.
However, Bright allegedly told police no one threw any punches and “they just rolled on the ground like little girls.”
When police questioned him about the “monkey fist” in the front seat, Bright allegedly admitted he brought it with him because he knew the victim to carry a gun.
According to court records, Bright was convicted of battery resulting in moderate bodily injury in Kosciusko County in December 2019.
