Dwight Anderson Jr. was recently convicted by a jury of battery with a deadly weapon, a category B felony. Anderson will be sentenced on May 28 and faces 2-10 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine with eligibility for probation.
According to trial statements by Deputy District Attorney Max Stovall, on June 22, 2018, in Golconda, Nev., Anderson hit another man over the head multiple times with a ball-peen hammer that was normally used to break apart ice in a chest freezer. After the hammer was broken during the fight, the two had a physical altercation. Stovall said that Anderson and the victim had an argument earlier in the day about whether to put the alcohol away during a party at a ranch, and Anderson didn’t like that the alcohol was put away.
It was reported that after Anderson caught the victim by surprise and hit him on the head multiple times with the hammer, a witness walked into the room and found what appeared to be Anderson trying to push the victim through a window of the house. After noticing the witness, Anderson reportedly fled and went to bed, while the witness called emergency responders for the victim.
Humboldt County Public Defender Matthew Stermitz told the jury that Anderson (his client) had acted in self-defense against the alleged victim, who he called “the ranch bully” who “had it coming to him.”
Although all parties in the matter agreed that there was an argument about alcohol prior to the incident with the hammer, the story of what happened after the hammer had different versions, one with Anderson acting in self-defense against the alleged victim, and the other as Anderson attacking the victim with a hammer without warning.
The jury was left to decide whether Anderson was guilty of battery with a deadly weapon, guilty of battery, or not guilty of anything. In order to find Anderson guilty, the state had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Anderson did not act in self-defense in the matter.
In closing arguments, Stovall presented to the jury that the witness testimony between the alleged victim and witness did not match that of the defendant, and said that the facts presented by the defendant didn’t align with the evidence presented. After the altercation, Anderson was shown in photos to have a cut on his head, and the victim had been transported to the hospital for multiple injuries, despite the alleged victim being much larger than the defendant.
“When someone’s down you can’t keep pounding on them and frankly, it's not a self-defense case; this is someone coming up behind someone else and attacking them,” said Stovall. “An attack is not self-defense, an attack is an attack. The defendant's story does not make sense and shouldn’t be believed.”
Stermitz said that Anderson was in a fight for his life after the alleged victim attacked Anderson and that according to medical records, Anderson suffered a concussion and had to have staples on his head.
“If you prevail in self-defense, you’re going to be on top; if you fail in self-defense you’re going to be on the bottom,” said Stermitz. ”At some point, we know that Mr. Anderson prevailed in self-defense and got on top of him. Being on top does not negate self-defense.”
The jury returned a verdict that Anderson was guilty of battery with a deadly weapon, a category B felony.
