Jonathan Shepard was found not guilty of domestic violence and burglary Monday.
Jessica Orozco | The Lima News
LIMA — A jury found a Lima man not guilty of both burglary, a second-degree felony, and domestic violence, a third-degree felony, after 23 minutes of deliberation Monday.
Jonathan Shepard, 43, was charged with trespassing into the home of his wife and stepdaughter and assaulting Lynette Zuppardo, his wife, on July 13.
Shepard has a history of domestic violence — having been convicted of the offense four times previously.
The trial lasted only one day, with testimony beginning Monday.
Lima Police Department Patrol Officer Brandon Stephenson testified that he, along with two other officers, responded to a domestic violence call at the home. There, they found a car with shattered windows, which Zuppardo said were smashed by Shepard wielding a baseball bat.
Stephenson said Zuppardo told him that Shepard was not living in the home at the time of the incident. In a 911 call, Zuppardo told the dispatcher that he did not live there. She said in the call, “I was begging [Shepard] to leave.”
Stephenson said Zuppardo told him that Shepard came to the home and was let in by her daughter. She said he drank a case of beer then he locked himself in the basement, returning after an argument through the door with a baseball bat and a “sword” that turned out to be a machete.
Stephenson said Zuppardo said that Shepard threw a beer can, spilling it all over the kitchen, and pushed her violently into a chair. He said the push resulted in a large bruise on the woman’s arm and a broken chair.
Stephenson said Zappardo said Shepard then went outside and smashed up the car in the driveway. He then fled in the direction of Martin Luther King Park and was found on Union Street and arrested.
Shepard smashing the car can be heard in the background of the 911 call.
Lima Police Detective Brian Snyder testified that he spoke with Zuppardo the day after the incident, and what she told him was “consistent” with her statement, with what Stephenson told him and the 911 call from the previous night.
In a video interview recording between Snyder and Shepard, Shepard denied ever hitting his wife until the detective told him what Zuppardo said had happened. Shepard eventually said that he did in fact hit his wife, but by accident, after the detective read Zuppardo’s statement to him.
Before this, Shepard told the detective that he was living in the home at the time of the incident. He said that on July 13, he left the home to buy beer and cigarettes. He said that he and his wife had been arguing about her relationship with her baby’s father.
Shepard said when he returned to the home, he went down to the basement and locked the door. He said his wife told him to leave and they argued more through the door.
Shepard said he then got a baseball bat and a machete because Zuppardo threatened to have people come to the house to get him out. He said once his wife threatened to call the police, he opened the door and went outside to smash her car up.
After inquiries from Snyder, Shepard denied pushing past Zuppardo or hitting her with the basement door. He said he never grabbed her and that his wife “gets in my face a lot when we argue.”
Shepard said he was “in a rage” and he hoped he was not the cause of her injury.
In her testimony, Zuppardo said she was blocking the door from Shepard and she said he pushed her, causing her to fall against the chair and hurt her arm.
In a recording of a phone call made from jail between Zuppardo and Shepard, Shepard said that he lived at the home and the woman said he did not.
In her testimony, Zuppardo said Shepard had been living at the home for a few weeks and that he had his toothbrush and clothing there. She said that she had lied to the police.
Zuppardo said she hit Shepard first and that the two had been arguing all day.
