By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Nearly a year after using racial slurs as they beat up two teenagers in the Waffle House in Bowling Green, two men were sentenced Friday to 180 days in jail and five years of community control.
Jacob Dick, 23, of North Baltimore, and Zachary Keller, 22, of Custar, had both pleaded guilty to felonious assault and ethnic intimidation for the attack that occurred on March 31, around 3:26 a.m.
Waffle House employees and customers told police the victims did nothing to provoke the attack. The victims were taken to Wood County Hospital. One had a broken nose, the other bruised ribs.
Both Dick and Keller could have faced 13 years in prison. But Wood County Common Pleas Court Judge Matt Reger – believing that the men are capable of rehabilitation – chose jail and community control.
“A prison sentence is definitely warranted in this case,” Reger said.
“The court came in convinced this was a sentence that deserved prison,” he said. But he noted the remorse expressed by both defendants. “You are somebody who I believe can be rehabilitated.”
Both men were immediately taken to jail after the sentencing. After 180 days, their community control provisions will include substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, anger management, no alcohol, no presence in bars, attendance at AA, and maintaining employment.
Dick and Keller were also ordered to complete 300 hours of community service. They will be given credit if they are continuously employed, attend AA meetings, attend church, and read “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Dick will also get credit if he takes his children to the library and reads to them.
If the defendants fail to comply with the provisions, the entire 13-year prison sentences can be enforced, the judge said.
Reger talked about the racist attack as an offense to the community. And he advised Keller to be wise in his future behavior.
“You’ve been given a second chance. I hope you take it seriously. I hope you understand this is your opportunity to make amends for what you did,” Reger said.
While both men pleaded guilty to the charges of felonious assault and ethnic intimidation, their attorneys told the court that neither is racist.
“This is a man who has a Hispanic daughter and a Hispanic lawyer,” said attorney Esteban R. Callejas about Dick, his client. “I don’t think he’s a racist. I don’t think he’s a bigot.”
“He truly isn’t what he’s been made out to be,” Callejas said of his client, who has a tattoo of a deer head with a Confederate flag on it.
When given a chance to speak to the judge, Keller acknowledged his role in the assault, but denied a racial motivation.
“They made it sound worse than it was that night,” he said.
Wood County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney James Hoppenjans pointed out to the court that it’s impossible to know what’s in a person’s heart.
“All we have to rely on is people’s words and conduct,” Hoppenjans said.
And Reger noted that multiple witnesses said the defendants used racist slurs.
Waffle House employees told police that Dick and Keller began to harass the two victims when they entered the restaurant – calling them racial slurs for Hispanic and black people. Three restaurant employees said the two victims – high school seniors from Findlay and Mount Cory – did nothing to provoke the attacks.
One of the victims reported the attackers said President Donald Trump would deal with immigrants like them.
In court on Friday, both Dick and Keller blamed their actions that night at Waffle House on alcohol.
“I know my actions that night – I was not myself,” Keller said to the judge.
Reger pointed out Keller’s previous DUI and underage drinking charges.
“It doesn’t agree with me,” Keller said of alcohol. His attorney, Sheldon Wittenberg, said his client has not consumed alcohol since the Waffle House incident.
But upon questioning by Reger, Keller said that was “not entirely true,” adding that he had consumed alcohol a couple times since then.
Dick talked about his desire to set a good example for his three children.
“I don’t want them to grow up that way,” he said. “I’m trying to make right for what I did.”
Dick also blamed drinking for his actions and words that night.
“Alcohol made me do that,” he said.
Hoppenjans reminded the court that Dick was the first to start assaulting the two teens – as proved by four different camera angles in Waffle House.
“He was the initial aggressor,” Hoppenjans said. “He walked over to the victims and swung.” Keller then followed suit.
“There’s no question you started this,” Reger said to Dick.
Particularly troubling for Hoppenjans was the fact that there had been a “cooling down” period when Waffle House staff got involved, that should have allowed Dick and Keller to calm down between the initial racial slurs and the physical assault.
“There was time for level heads to prevail,” Hoppenjans said.
A Waffle House employee told police that after Dick and Keller came up to pay their bill, the men then went over to the victims’ table and began assaulting them. The men were identified by the credit card Dick used to pay, and by another patron in the restaurant.
Dick and Keller fled the restaurant after the attack.
Their victims were not present in court Friday, but Hoppenjans described their physical and emotional injuries.
“My sense was they thought there should be punishment for this,” he said.
“The surprise of that attack is something that has stayed with them,” Hoppenjans said of the victims. “It’s still with them, and lingers.”
Both men apologized in court Friday for their actions.
Since the incident, Keller has held an apprenticeship position in the local machine operators union.
“It was wrong, and I know it was,” Keller said.
“He wishes every moment that he could take it back,” Wittenberg said.
Dick has been regularly attending church and AA meetings, and faithfully pays his child support, according to his attorney. He has maintained a job and taken anger management classes.
“I am truly sorry for my actions,” Dick said.
“Prison isn’t the answer for Jacob Dick,” Callejas said. “He is worthy of mercy.”
Reger also said he was considering the attack’s impact on the community.
“This did have an impact on this community,” Hoppenjans said.
The incident united many Bowling Green residents in anger about the incident. Several public meetings were held by La Conexion of Wood County, with efforts made to find solutions to stop similar events in the future. The city police division has since conducted training for employees of businesses open during late night hours, so they know how to handle such incidents.
“This type of conduct is not acceptable in Wood County,” Hoppenjans said.
