FRANKLIN MUNICIPAL COURT
Two men in standoff freed on bond
Grand jury to decide whether suspects will face trial for allegedly beating 19-year-old.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
FRANKLIN — After being led into the courtroom wearing faded orange and white striped uniforms and shackled around the ankles and wrists, the two Carlisle men arrested after a three-hour standoff with police were released on bond Friday, June 27.
Ben Parks, 23, and Brandon Foxx, 22, allegedly beat Christopher Sweezy, 19, after arguing with Sweezy and his cousin. Parks and Foxx then barricaded themselves inside Parks' apartment and were escorted out by a Warren County police tactical unit three hours later.
Parks and Foxx were charged with felonious assault and a misdemeanor charge of inducing panic. A Warren County grand jury will review the cases against the two men after both waived their right to preliminary hearings Friday in Franklin Municipal Court.
Neither Parks nor Foxx had a previous assault conviction, according to local court records.
Sweezy and his cousin, 20-year-old Joey Houston, arrived at the courthouse sporting matching slings they said resulted from injuries stemming from the altercation. Sweezy said the injury has forced him to miss work.
"It's been a nightmare," Sweezy's father, Orville, said.
Houston and Sweezy said they hoped the court did "the right thing," but did not elaborate. Sweezy's mother, Cheryl, said they have not ruled out filing a civil lawsuit against their son's alleged attackers.
Relatives of Parks and Foxx refused to comment.
Judge Rupert Ruppert cited Parks' and Foxx's lack of prior assault convictions when he released them, though he did give a temporary protection order stating that neither defendant could come within 100 yards of Sweezy or travel west of the Great Miami River in Warren County.
Ben Parks (left) and Brandon Foxx talk in the jury box of the Franklin Municipal Court after they waived their preliminary hearings on Friday, June 27, in Franklin. Their cases will now be reviewed by a Warren County grand jury.