Justin Forrest Plank
A Syracuse man has been arrested for allegedly battering a man and causing serious bodily injuries that sent the victim to the hospital.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed by the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office, on July 6, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department officers responded to North Shore Drive in Syracuse for a reported fight in progress. Upon arrival, officers met with the male victim whose face was reportedly swollen. Police stated the victim’s left eye was bruised, several of his teeth were broken, blood was coming out of his mouth and it appeared that the left side of his jaw was broken.
According to the victim’s statement, he was in a boat on the lake and observed another boat without its lights on. The victim told the driver to turn on his lights and recognized the subject on the boat to be Justin Plank, 37, of 877 E. North Shore Dr., Syracuse, who yelled an obscenity.
The victim told police that he then docked his boat and walked toward Plank to resolve the issue at Plank’s residence. The victim told police his hands were down and that he was nonthreatening and non-intimidating, but that Plank punched him in the face three to four times without. The victim fell to the ground where Plank then allegedly proceeded to kick him. The victim was taken to the hospital where it was found he did, in fact, suffer a broken jaw.
Police then spoke with a female witness at the scene who said the alleged victim approached her on her dock and threw her to the ground. According to the witness, the man and Plank then allegedly began shoving each other when Plank shoved the victim into the water. The witness stated the man got out of the water and charged at Plank, which was followed by Plank punching and kicking the victim. The witness reportedly had a large bruise beginning to appear on her right forearm.
According to Plank, after the victim told him his lights on his boat were not working while on the lake, the man then approached him and pushed him. The man then allegedly told informed Plank that he was “going to jail.” Plank said he shoved the victim in the water and when the victim came at him again, he hit and kicked him.
Plank was given a $4,000 surety bond and was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on Thursday, July 17, for battery causing a serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony offense.