Notice of appeal filed in Unger case

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Attorneys for a Greencastle man who received an eight-year prison sentence in February have filed a notice of appeal.

Jay C. Unger, 55, was sentenced by Putnam County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley after a jury found Unger guilty of Class B felony aggravated battery, Class C felony battery by means of a deadly weapon, Class D felony criminal recklessness and two counts of Class B misdemeanor battery.

In addition, Unger was ordered to pay nearly $47,000 in restitution.

The charges against Unger stemmed from a September 2007 incident in which he hit his brother-in-law, Jack Mace, in the head with a baseball bat. Court documents and testimony in court indicated that Mace, who had to be flown from the scene of the incident to an Indianapolis hospital, was so severely injured by Unger that he suffered permanent hearing loss and brain damage.

During the altercation with Mace, Unger also assaulted his two sisters, Gene Ann Judy and Mary Jane Mace.

Throughout the trial, Unger, who suffered bruised ribs and a bruised eye in the fight and also sought medical attention, maintained he acted in self-defense.

According to testimony and court documents, the impetus for the entire incident was an argument between Judy and Jarod Unger concerning the movement and placing of debris on the Unger family farm.

Headley ordered that Unger would serve three years in the Indiana Department of Corrections, three years on home detention and two years on probation.

Documentation on the case has been sent to the Indiana Court of Appeals, but no court dates have been set yet.

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  • Good luck I hope Unger pulls though!

    -- Posted by 1stamendrights on Thu, Mar 19, 2009, at 5:39 PM
  • I wish the best of luck to Jay C-He got railroaded in the whole ordeal.If, someone came at me with a baseball bat I would defend myself too.

    -- Posted by peace2019 on Thu, Mar 19, 2009, at 6:09 PM
  • My heart goes out to the Ungers. Jay C got a bad deal. He has done a lot for the community and yet the judge was more harsh in sentencing that he is with many no goods that are repeat offenders. I could perhaps understand probation but come on - prison time!!!

    -- Posted by jakedog1 on Fri, Mar 20, 2009, at 9:54 AM
  • I don't know Jay Unger or Jack Mace but If Unger was assaulting my wife I like Mace would use whatever was handy to protect my wife and her sister. Apparently Unger overpowered Mace and took the Ball Bat and beat Mace almost to death, and he had help in doing so! In rage it is apparent he could have just as easy killed Mace. Now Unger is the victim? Let the courts do what they need to and quite complaining!

    -- Posted by Trying hard on Sat, Mar 21, 2009, at 7:03 AM
  • Best wishes to Jay C and the Unger family! Hang in there guys! My wish for you is that you can put this behind you and all have your lives back. You are an amazing family regardless of the misconceptions about this horrible incident. We are praying for you! Just remember, you may be paying an unfair price now, but hey, at least you can still look at yourselves in the mirror! Keep your heads up! You're doing great!

    -- Posted by putnamcountyrefugee on Thu, Mar 26, 2009, at 7:17 AM
  • Unger deserves to be in prison. Regardless of what he has done in the community or how the community views him, he obviously is a different man behind closed doors. He seriously almost killed a guy, his brother-in-law at that over an argument between his son and his sister over nothing more than trash storage? This guy deserves to be in prison for the full 8 years, I think the sentence was rather light. It sounds like he should have been charged with attempted murder. I am sure he had to go and get the baseball bat and didn't just have it in his hand at the time of the fight. Doesn't that show intent?

    -- Posted by bluntbuthonest on Thu, Mar 26, 2009, at 9:12 AM
  • bluntbuthonest

    Please check your facts before you post.

    -- Posted by fact_checker on Thu, Mar 26, 2009, at 9:03 PM
  • Fact_Finder What are you disputing? All of my facts have been taken from the articles here in the Banner Graphic. I will be happy to back up any claims you have in question.

    -- Posted by bluntbuthonest on Thu, Mar 26, 2009, at 10:00 PM
  • Actually, the Banner stated that Mace had the bat first. Doesn't matter now does it....Unger had the chance to walk away after he got the bat. He did not. He struck the man with it. That's called battery folks. If this had been some random Putnam county person,there would be no commentary on it. It would be 'he got what he deserved'...well, choices lead to consequences.Walking away would have been the best choice.This is a very sad family situation.

    -- Posted by citizenoftheworld on Fri, Mar 27, 2009, at 9:25 AM
  • You're right citizen, I remember that now... it was right after Jay struck Mary Jane and then Gene Ann, knocking them both to the ground. I have known this family for years through 4-H and Mary being my school nurse; it should not matter who they are, he deserves to be in prison. I don't care who you are, you don't have the right to behave this way. I hope Unger does NOT 'pull through' I hope he serves every minute.

    -- Posted by bluntbuthonest on Fri, Mar 27, 2009, at 9:44 AM
  • I would not count on heresay to know the facts of the case. Did anyone mention that his sisters hit him first? Did anyone mention how everyone had different stories and the medical evidence supports that Mace was only struck once? Some people need to remember that there are lies told in order to get what you want. Unfortunately there have been a lot of lies told and it was not by Jay C at all. The way the story has been portrayed is not the real way it happened.

    -- Posted by justi on Tue, Apr 14, 2009, at 10:33 PM
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