CAPE MAN NOT GUILTY IN ASSAULT

A 32-year-old Cape Girardeau man was acquitted by a jury Wednesday of assault charges stemming from a brawl outside a bar involving a baseball bat and beer bottle.

The jury deliberated for an hour and a half before finding Dennis J. George not guilty of second degree assault.

The victim, 41-year-old Jeffery Livesay, declined to comment after the verdict. Livesay had suffered a skull fracture and several serious lacerations to his head and nose when he was attacked outside of the Daytimer Lounge at 829 S. Kingshighway on March 18.

A police officer who responded to the scene told jurors he initially thought the wounds had come from a gunshot due to their severity.

George told the court that he and David Dabbs had gone to two bars during the evening of March 17. They had met with George's girlfriend and others at Daytimer about midnight.

At the bar, George said they saw Livesay dancing with a woman who Dabbs had lived with for several years. Dabbs made a negative comment about Livesay to George, who said he ignored him.

As they were leaving the bar at closing, George said Dabbs had a beer bottle and was planning to attack Livesay.

George said he decided to intervene. George told Dabbs to wait as he went up to Livesay, who was seated in his van. George said he opened the driver's door to tell Livesay that he should leave when Livesay struck him with a baseball bat.

George said he warded off two other blows with his arm before jumping into the van and punching Livesay several times in the head.