Musall sentenced for battery

A Greencastle man is going to prison after being convicted on a battery charge.

Jeremy L. Musall, 24, was sentenced to six years, two executed and four suspended, by Putnam County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley. Musall was ordered to serve one year in the Indiana Department of Corrections and one year on home detention for the Class C felony.

The maximum sentence for a Class C felony is eight years.

Musall was convicted of taking part in a June 5 attack that left John Sanders, 26, of Greencastle so severely injured that he was hospitalized for several days.

Musall was arrested shortly after the incident took place, and has been held without bond since then. Indiana good time credit will allow Musall to receive one day's credit for each day he serves at the DOC without incident.

Musall was also sentenced on a petition to revoke probation. Because of his conviction, one year of a suspended sentence he received on Dec. 6, 2007 was reinstated. He will receive credit for the 207 days he has served since his June arrest.

Musall was on probation for a Class C felony battery by means of a deadly weapon charge. In that incident, he struck a female and stabbed her in the leg with a knife on Nov. 11, 2007, court documents said.

A probable cause affidavit prepared by Sgt. Charles Inman said he responded to call at 2:32 a.m. on June 5 about a male subject at McClure Oil Corp. "who has apparently been involved in an altercation and was requiring emergency medical assistance."

The subject, who identified himself to Inman as John Sanders, had an extremely swollen face and was covered in blood, the affidavit said.

"Mr. Sanders was quite difficult to understand, as his mouth was beginning to swell shut," the affidavit said.

Sanders identified Musall as his attacker, and said he had been beaten just outside Old Topper's Tavern in Greencastle.

Sanders was taken to Putnam County Hospital via ambulance, and was later transferred to Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis.

Doctors said "Sanders had suffered what appeared to be a brain bleed" and had "extensive cuts and bruising which would likely require reconstructive plastic surgery."

Musall was located and taken into custody at a Greencastle residence. Witnesses said Musall "struck Sanders with an overhead elbow," and "continued striking Sanders with closed fists until Sanders collapsed on the pavement," then "struck Sanders a couple more times before fleeing the scene."