Questions surround events that led to fatal head injury

Sunday, May 15, 2005

MORGANTOWN Information about an April 19 altercation in Morgantown that left one family without a husband and father will be presented to a grand jury on June 8, according to Butler County Commonwealths Attorney Tim Coleman.

Clevie DeWayne Garner, 45, of Morgantown died April 22 at Greenview Regional Hospital of head injuries suffered during the incident but questions revolve around how he received those injuries.

The night of the altercation, Garner and his 17-year-old son, Cody, were driving around Morgantown looking for 21-year-old Jerrell Jerry House after House allegedly made physical threats toward Cody.

The Garners met House in the parking lot of Dollar General on Veterans Way, according to a Morgantown Police Department report. There, police say, Garner, wielding a pickax handle, threatened House and climbed on the hood of Houses vehicle. When House pulled away, Garner fell off the vehicle, injuring his head, according to police.

Cody Garners account of the evening is quite different. His father did grab a pickax handle from the back of the truck, he said, in an effort to get House to stop driving in circles around the parking lot and exit his vehicle so they could talk.

Garner, on Friday, said his father was not on the hood of Houses vehicle, but actually stood several yards away, leaving plenty of room for House to leave the parking lot without hurting anyone.

Instead, House sped his vehicle straight into Garner, causing the fatal injury when Garner crashed head-first into Houses windshield.

Keep in mind that Mr. Garner had a stick and Mr. House had an SUV, said Randall L. Short, the Morgantown-based attorney representing the Garner family. He chose to run head-on into Mr. Garner.

The House family would not comment on the situation on the recommendation of their attorney, Currie Milliken of Bowling Green, who did not return phone calls.

Coleman declined to comment on the facts of the case, as did Morgantown Police Chief Ronnie Burden, because the investigation is ongoing.

Morgantown Officer Rodney McMillin, who was originally called to the scene, has said it appeared House was acting in self-defense.

Kentucky State Police Detective Mike May, who is currently investigating the incident, said KSP is not backing either side of this story. The perception of each party is going to be different.

The legal definition of self-defense can get very technical, according to Coleman, but under the law, a person is entitled to defend themselves with appropriate force.

You can meet deadly force with deadly force and physical force with physical force, he said. It just depends on the circumstances of the case.

According to Cody Garners statement, he and his father took matters into their own hands because they had no faith that police would take any action and felt calling the police would only incite House further.

Garner also said House visited his home twice within the preceding week, spray-painting insulting language on the mailbox, road and nearby road signs.

Neither of those incidents nor any of Houses threatening phone calls were reported to police until April 19, during the investigation into the parking lot altercation. House was arrested April 28 on a Butler County Attorneys warrant for terroristic threatening in relation to alleged threats made to Cody on April 3.

House was released from Butler County Jail the day of his arrest on a $1,500 partially secured bond. He was also ordered by the court to avoid coming within 1,000 feet of Cody Garner, who along with his stepmother, Jacqueline, two step-sisters, Jennifer Kimball and Tina Laverack, and older brother, C.J. is left wondering how to fill the hole left in the Garner home.

I did everything with dad, said Cody, a Butler County High senior approaching graduation. I fished with him, hunted with him, worked for him. I dont know … its unreal.  Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700