John Caniglia
cleveland.com/
Lawyers spent hours Monday picking a jury in a case seldom seen in this picket-fence community -- allegations that two members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang pummeled a rival.
But the case goes beyond an attack in a parking lot Sept. 3 off Ohio 18 in Montville Township. It prompted federal and local police to raid the Hells Angels headquarters in Cleveland in January, searching for everything from weapons to investment statements, according to the search warrant.
Prosecutors said the attack took place over a dispute with a member of a biker group called the Coffin Cheaters. Testimony is set to begin today in Medina County Common Pleas Court after attorneys spent Monday picking from dozens of prospective jurors.
Defense attorneys said prosecutors have a weak case based on a witness who lacks credibility.
Tuesday morning, prosecutors will detail their cases against Scott Stage, 46, of Parma, and Justin Seliskar, 31, of Medina. Stage is charged with felonious assault, while Seliskar is accused of complicity to commit felonious assault.
Prosecutors said in court documents that the two men are members of the Hells Angels. Prosecutors said the attack came as the victim "was being warned at the time of the beating to stay off the Medina County road with his group of motorcycle enthusiasts." The document gives no further explanation.
But Stage's attorney, David Sheldon, ripped the claims. In a court filing, he questioned how the case has gotten so far.
"The state's case is weak," Sheldon wrote. "If this was a serious case where the victim suffered serious harm on the date in question, the police would have immediately applied for and obtained a warrant for felonious assault and arrested Mr. Stage shortly after the commission of the ofense. Instead, an indictment (was) filed 2 1/2 months later."
Prosecutors make no mention of the victim's name. Defense documents list him as Steven Keresztesi, and stress his criminal past for felonious assault and weapons. Sheldon said Keresztesi did not suffer serious injuries from Sept. 3, though he was treated with 10 stitches on his head.
Ralph Buss, an attorney representing the Hells Angels, said the dispute has broader issues. He said police across the country have used skirmishes or minor crimes involving members to obtain search warrants for clubs' headquarters, a move intended to prove allegations of criminal enterprises. Buss is seeking to obtain the property seized in the raid in Cleveland.
The trial, before Judge James Kimbler, is expected to take three or four days.
Scott E. Stage, left and Justin M. Seliskar, both members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, appear in Medina County Common Pleas Court..
