HARRISBURG, PA (WPMT) Russell E. Weathers never got the chance to hear a Dauphin County jury pronounce him guilty. Before the jury arrived to the courtroom to announce their verdict, Weathers began disrupting the court proceedings and refused to be quite when ordered to do so by President Judge Richard Lewis. Judge Lewis warned the defendant he would be removed if he did not stop his disruptive behavior. When Weathers refused to comply with Judge Lewis’ order, he was carried out of the courtroom by six deputy sheriffs. Even when being removed from the courtroom, Weathers attempted to yell loud enough in the stairwell to be heard by the jury. When order was restored in the courtroom, Judge Lewis had the jury brought into the courtroom to announce their verdict. They found Weathers guilty of Aggravated Assault. All of this occurred on Wednesday February 11, which coincidentally was also Weather’s 30th birthday.
Weathers was on trial for causing serious bodily injury to his ex-girlfriend on August 1, 2013 in Harrisburg. On that date, the victim had locked herself out of their shared apartment and was waiting in her car with her three young children for the defendant to arrive home. At approximately 3:00am, the defendant arrived in a taxi cab. When the victim approached the front passenger side of the taxi where the defendant was seated, he grabbed the back of her head and smacked the front of her face against the side of the vehicle. He began cursing at her and stated “Why are you playing me?” He got out and continued to beat her by smacking her face against the window of her vehicle where her six-year-old son was seated, onto the hood of her vehicle, and threw her by her neck to the pavement where he repeatedly knocked her head against the ground. The victim suffered multiple fractures to her nose and face, as well as a concussion. When she returned home from the hospital with a locksmith later that morning, she discovered their apartment destroyed – food, belongings, and appliances were thrown everywhere, furniture was flipped, a toilet was ripped from the floor, the victim’s clothing and her baby’s clothing were sliced, the children’s toys were broken, and a picture of her son was stabbed in the face.
The victim was uncooperative for much of the prosecution, but ultimately took the stand and testified to the circumstances of the assault, as well as the physical abuse that she endured for much of their relationship. Other witnesses included a passerby who witnessed the assault on his way home from work, the nurse who treated the victim, the locksmith who witnessed the defendant as he helped the victim get into the apartment, and several City Police Officers.
Due to the Weather’s behavior, sentencing is postponed until March 20th.
