Published Saturday, March 15, 2003
to county court
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
Charges are headed to Mercer County Common Pleas Court against an Ohio man who says he was booted off the television show "American Idol" because of his alleged involvement in the November death of a Sharpsville man.
"American Idol" hopeful Jaered N. Andrews, 24, of Austintown is charged with simple assault in connection with the Nov. 16 death of Thomas E. Blakeley, 39, of 44 S. Third St., Sharpsville. After a preliminary hearing Friday, District Justice Henry J. Russo, Hermitage, held the charge for court.
Prosecutors say Andrews punched Blakeley outside a bar in Farrell and he fell backward and hit his head on a sidewalk, causing the injury that killed him.
Andrews told police he didn't punch Blakeley until Blakeley came after him.
But the sister of another man charged with assaulting Blakeley claimed in court Friday that Andrews told her a different story.
Cindy Degaton, the sister of Jerrold Lee Allen, said Andrews told her he punched Blakeley because Blakeley was going after Allen.
"No one's going at the man I love, so I hit him," she quoted Andrews as saying.
Ms. Degaton told defense attorney Carl Marcus of Pittsburgh that her brother, who has been charged with aggravated assault, "took all the blame so Jaered could go on 'American Idol.' '' The case against Allen, 21, of 630 Thornton Ave., Sharon, has already proceeded to county court.
Andrews, an aspiring singer, was a contestant on the television show, but was booted off. He has claimed his involvement in Blakeley's death was the reason.
According to Andrews' statement to Southwest Mercer County Regional police, parts of which Chief Riley Smoot Jr. read in court:
Blakeley and Andrews had a confrontation in the Blue Ribbon Bar, 731 Broadway, Farrell, after Blakeley fondled a woman who had passed out; the woman was a friend of Andrews'.
When Andrews intervened, Blakeley told Andrews "back the f
up" and shoved Andrews.
The woman woke up and Andrews ended up separating Blakeley and the woman.
Blakeley, who is white, went elsewhere in the bar but used a derogatory racial term. Blakeley later apologized and shook hands with Andrews, who is black.
At closing time, Andrews and Sam Allen, the brother of Jerrold Allen and Cindy Degaton, were outside the bar helping the woman to a car and heard arguing by the front door.
Andrews was looking to get his friends away and he heard Blakeley say "I'm gonna f
you up," but didn't know to whom Blakeley was talking.
When Blakeley came at him, Andrews swung at Blakeley, connecting with a punch in the right side of the jaw.
"He had his eyes closed when he fell, so I knew I wouldn't have to fight him," Andrews said.
As he turned away from Blakeley, Andrews said he saw Jerrold Allen "stomping" on Blakeley. Two of the kicks were in the stomach area and one in the face, Andrews said.
Blakeley died when his brain "rebounded" across his skull from falling and hitting an immovable object, Dr. Eric Vey, the forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy on Blakeley, told Mercer County Assistant District Attorney Robert Kochems.
The injuries on the side of the brain that hit the object, including a fractured skull, were not severe enough to cause death, Vey said.
Blakeley had several cuts and bruises on his face and bruises on the brain behind the facial injuries, but they were not fatal, he said. There were no noticeable injuries on Blakeley's lower jaw, but Vey said, a punch might not leave visible marks.
Under questioning from Marcus, Vey said a kick to Blakeley's head when it was on the ground would not have caused the injury that killed him.
Ms. Degaton said Andrews never told her that Blakeley had come at him.
Marcus asked Ms. Degaton if she had asked Sam Allen, who did not testify, to change his story or if she were trying to get better treatment for Jerrold Allen.
"I believe that they all have to pay for their part and they all have a part in this," she said. "My brother was wrong, as was Jaered."
Marcus asked that the charge be dismissed, arguing that Blakeley had attacked Andrews and Andrews threw one punch, which was not an illegal act.
Kochems said Andrews was the only person who threw a punch and it brought about Blakeley's death. He added that self-defense is not an issue at a preliminary hearing.