WHEELING - Jeff Zawisa will serve two years of unsupervised probation after pleading no contest to a charge of battery in the death of former Wheeling business owner Travis Hocutt.
The two men were involved in an argument around 3 a.m. Oct. 9, 2010, on Main Street between 14th and 16th streets when Zawisa, 24, of Blaine, struck the left side of Hocutt's face with his right fist. The punch caused Hocutt to fall backward, striking the back of his head on the sidewalk.
Soon after, police responding to a report of an injured man lying on the sidewalk found Hocutt hurt but conscious, near the site of his former business, Hocutt's Carolina BBQ.
Article Photos
Jeff Zawisa has pleaded no contest to battery in connection with the death of downtown businessman Travis Hocutt.
The collision with the pavement caused severe injuries to Hocutt's brain, including hemorrhaging and massive swelling. He died a week later in Ohio Valley Medical Center, Wheeling.
Zawisa was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor carrying a maximum sentence of one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. That charge was ultimately dismissed with Zawisa's plea Thursday. He was scheduled to face a jury Oct. 20
"I think the state, after reexamining the evidence, they recognized that eyewitnesses and my client ... saw it as self-defense and only one punch," said defense attorney Thomas Madden.
Ohio County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Olejasz said there was also conflicting medical evidence.
Medical experts at OVMC contended Hocutt was the victim of multiple blows, Olejasz said, while the medical examiner conducting the autopsy report ruled it was a single blow and the damage caused by Hocutt's collision with the ground lead to his death.
Ohio County Magistrate Patricia Murphy suspended a one-year jail term in favor of the probation, according to the terms of a plea agreement. She also ordered Zawisa to pay court costs, as well a monthly probation fee of $5.
Hocutt's widow agreed to the terms of the plea agreement, Olejasz added.