Acquittal in Philly fight that cost a man an eye
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PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia jury has acquitted a man of assault in a bar parking lot fight that cost a man an eye.
The Philadelphia Inquirer says the Common Pleas panel deliberated for about three hours Wednesday before acquitting 23-year-old Matthew Brunelli of aggravated assault.
Prosecutors alleged that he punched 48-year-old John Huttick in the left eye with an object that may have been a key in the August 2011 fight in the parking lot of the New Princeton Tavern.
Defense attorney Eileen Hurley said her client only used his fist to punch Huttick as he tried to intervene in a fight between Brunelli and another bar patron.
Earlier proceedings ended in a mistrial last month after Huttick’s prosthetic eye popped out as he was testifying.