LIMA, OH (WLIO) - The jury has been seated and the trial begins today for a Lima man arrested after a 2021 hostage situation.
37-year-old Bryant Rose has been charged with felonious assault, abduction, and having a weapon under disability. The Lima Police Department says that back on January 29th of 2021, officers were called out to the 600 block of Fourth Street, where a man barricaded himself inside a house with a hostage. Rose eventually let the victim leave when police arrived and she was taken to the hospital. After several hours of negotiations, Rose came out peacefully and was arrested. During opening statements today, the prosecution said that testimony in this trial would paint a clear picture of what happened.
"Pay attention to the both the testimony that will come from the witness stand and from any exhibits that you may be presented with. And the state is convinced that by using your common sense and reason, we're confident that you will find the state's case has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt," stated Joshua Carp, assistant prosecutor at the Allen County Prosecutor's Office.
The defense alleges that while there was an argument between Rose and his then-girlfriend, there was never a gun involved.
"There's not going to any presentation of anything close to a firearm, in fact there is no firearm. You're not going to hear about anything about discharge of a firearm because nothing was discharged. No firearm was found by the police after their full investigation, said Stephen Chamberlain, Allen County Public Defender.
The jury heard from several members of law enforcement as the first witnesses. The trial will continue on Wednesday.
