A Butler County jury took fewer than 45 minutes Thursday afternoon to acquit a local man of murdering his former brother-in-law who he had shot on the steps of a local mental health facility.
The eight-man, four-woman jury found Eddie Joseph Skorcz not guilty of the Class A felony of second-degree murder and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action in connection to the October 2015 death of Mitchell Dugger.
By acquitting him, the jury found the 60-year-old shot Dugger in self defense.
During the two-day trial, the jury heard testimony from nine witnesses, including Skorcz, who testified on his own behalf.
"I think the jury listened to the evidence," Skorcz's attorney, Dan Moore said. "It's pretty much undisputed this was self defense."
Moore said he was "very happy" to know self defense and gun rights are "being preserved in Butler County."
According to Moore, this was a case of a "man being forced to defend his life. He really had no choice."
The jury's verdict, he said, will let Skorcz get his life back.
"It's been a hell of a burden for him, (wife) Sheila and (son) Blake," Moore said. "It's dragged on for about 2 1/2 years. He spent 30 days in the Butler County jail. He's glad it's over; we're glad its over."
Moore said the jury made the right decision.
"This is just a case about your fundamental rights," Moore said. "It gives confidence other people can stand up" for their rights.
Butler County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Oesterreicher indicated this was a "hard decision for the jury to make based on the facts of the situation.
"Our office chose to pursue this because we could not make the determination of self defense. We allowed that to go to the jury."
Letting a jury decide, Oesterreicher said, is the way "our system works. We can't make all the decisions."
The jury left the courtroom to begin its deliberations at 3:59 p.m. after hearing closing arguments from Oesterreicher, Moore and Devin Kirby, who also represented Skorcz.
Earlier in the day, the defense called two witnesses, Jarred "Blake" Skorcz and his father, to testify.
The younger Skorcz confirmed he knew his aunt, Sonya Dugger, was in Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center Behavioral Health on Oct. 14, 2015.
Blake Skorcz testified he sent his cousin, Jacob Dugger, a text message that day saying they wanted to talk to him, but did not receive a response.
The witness said his father also called him that day, asking if he wanted to meet him at the hospital to visit his aunt.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Blake Skorcz said, they went inside, but didn't see his aunt at that time.
"We were told we had to go outside and find a security guard," the witness said. " ... We sat down on the steps out there. I was standing up."
When Moore asked whether he had any idea Jacob Dugger, his father, Mitchell Dugger, or his grandfather, John Dugger, also were going to show up at the hospital, the witness said, he did not.
Blake Skorcz said he and his dad had been waiting 10 to 15 minutes when the Duggers arrived.
Jacob Dugger and his grandfather, according to Blake Skorcz, came up the steps on the right side.
Mitchell Dugger, he said, came up the left side and approached his father, who was seated on the retaining wall, in an "aggressive manner."
Blake Skorcz said Mitchell Dugger pointed a finger in his father's face and said: "'Do you have a ------- problem?'"
At that point, he said, Mitchell Dugger "dropped his hands, stepped back and aggressively shoved my dad back off the ledge."
Blake Skorcz said he started toward his dad, but "Jacob grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me straight up and punched me in the eye."
Jacob Dugger's alleged blow, the witness said, knocked his glasses off.
Blake Skorcz said he and his cousin then fought until they heard gunshots. At that point, he said, he went toward his dad.
On cross-examination, Blake Skorcz reiterated he did not know his cousin was going to be at the hospital.
In answering Oesterreicher's questions, the witness gave the jury the same account regarding the Duggers' arrival and what Mitchell Dugger had said and actions he took against his father.
When asked how many shots he heard, the witness said, one.
The elder Skorcz told the jury he was sitting on a retaining wall when Mitchell Dugger approached him, saying: "'You got a ------- problem with me?'"
Then, he said, Mitchell Dugger pushed him off the wall and "went to beating me. ... It knocked the breath out of me. I couldn't breathe at all. He jumped on top of me ... he was beating me hard."
Eddie Skorcz said he crossed his arms over his face and yelled: "'Stop, get off of me.'"
At that point, he said, Mitchell Dugger started hitting him in the chest.
"At one point, it felt like he stabbed me," he said. "I drew my gun and fired twice. I feared for me life."
After giving his account of Oct. 14, 2015, Kirby asked about his family, including Sonya Dugger, who, he said, has been his sister-in-law for 37 years.
The elder Skorcz told the jury he had a close relationship with the woman, who had lived with them prior to her marriage. The Duggers, he said, had divorced a couple of months earlier.
In October 2015, Eddie Skorcz said, he was a federally licensed firearms dealer and had his conceal-carry permit.
The witness said he carried a gun every day.
"I would have it on the right side on my hip in a holster," he said. "... I actually never left home without it."
When Kirby asked why Eddie Skorcz had gone to the hospital that day, he responded it was due to his wife having her sister committed.
"I knew there were going to be some issues over that," said Eddie Skorcz, who indicated the commitment was due to Sonya Dugger's "intentions of committing suicide."
Upon entering the hospital's reception area, he said, they found it to be dark.
A cab driver, who was out front, he said, subsequently asked if they were there to see someone.
When the elder Skorcz said they were, the cab driver "said we would have to see the security guard. So, we went outside. I sat down on the steps." His son stood nearby.
From their locations, he said, they could watch for the security guard's return, as well as saw the arrival of the Duggers.
Like his son, Eddie Skorcz said, he did not know the Duggers were coming.
"John came up (the steps) first," he said. "Jacob was behind him (but) only by a couple of steps."
Both, he said, came up the steps on the right side.
Mitchell Dugger, the elder Skorcz said, came up the left side.
"He came up the steps and kind of stopped right there in front of me," Eddie Skorcz said. "He pointed a finger and said: 'You got a ------- problem with me?'
"I shook my head no. He backed up and shoved me," then "started beating me."
Kirby then had his client sit on the defense table and had Moore stand on a small stool to demonstrate what had happened on the hospital steps.
When asked how close Mitchell Dugger was, Eddie Skorcz used Moore to indicate how close the other man was.
"He pointed in my face like this," the witness said. " ... He stepped straight back," stopping when he encountered the rail separating the staircase.
Then, "he charged me and pushed me like that," Eddie Skorcz said as he pushed Moore's shoulders back.
The Duggers, according to Kirby, testified Eddie Skorcz had pushed Mitchell Dugger.
"I didn't shove him at all," he said.
After being shoved, Eddie Skorcz said, he landed in a flower bed behind the retaining wall.
"Mitchell got on top of me, beating me, hit after hit," said Eddie Skorcz, who indicated his glasses were knocked off by the first blow to his head.
Eddie Skorcz again told the jury about covering up and being hit in the chest before firing the shots.
"He stayed on top of me for a few seconds," the witness said. "He said; 'He shot me, dad. I'm bleeding.' He fell off to the side of me."
Eddie Skorcz said he was unable to get up at that point because he was "so out of breath" and his chest had a "bursting sensation."
John Dugger, he said, subsequently knelt down beside him and held his arm down.
The witness said John Dugger asked for his pistol. "I told him I wasn't giving him my pistol," he said.
As a security guard approached, he said, he told the elder Dugger he would give the gun to the guard.
Due to the pressure John Dugger had on his arm, Eddie Skorcz, who still had his finger on the trigger, said, he was afraid he would fire the gun.
Eddie Skorcz said he surrendered the gun to the security guard. "He didn't have to wrestle it from me," he said.
Eddie Skorcz also went to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured rib; neck and cervical sprains; pain in his left neck, chest and temple; sprain of joints and ligaments; rhabdomyolysis (crushing injury as from an auto accident, fall or building collapse) and traumatic ischemia of muscle (inadequate blood supply to organs and body tissue as the result of serious physical injury).
When Kirby asked whether he had any of the injures "before his contact with Mr. Dugger," the witness said, he did not.
Upon his release from the hospital, Eddie Skorcz said, he was taken to the police department.
The jury was shown Lt. Josh Stewart's body-camera footage as he photographed the injuries of hospital-gown-clad Eddie Skorcz.
Stewart subsequently told Eddie Skorcz he was under arrest for first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action.
After the charges were repeated to Eddie Skorcz, he responded: "'He beat the hell out of me. I defended myself."
The video showed Eddie Skorcz asking about the hospital's security cameras.
"You can see plainly I was sitting on the steps ... not provoking him. He shoved me backward ... ," Eddie Skorcz said.
The witness also confirmed Jacob Dugger filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him, which is pending.
On cross-examination, Eddie Skorcz confirmed he walked into the hospital, which is a gun-free zone, with his gun.
The witness also confirmed he knew his nephew was upset and had called family members regarding his mother's situation.
In addition to his son's text to Jacob Dugger, Eddie Skorcz said, he also called his nephew several times, but his calls went unanswered.
Oesterreicher asked about his "good relationship" with Sonya Dugger.
"I don't have a relationship with her at this time," the witness said. "She does not hardly talk to anybody at this time."
Eddie Skorcz also was asked about his federal gun license and CCW permit and confirmed he knew how to shoot a gun.
"Very well," Oesterreicher asked.
"I know how to make it go off," the witness replied.
When Eddie Skorcz was asked if he and Mitchell Dugger had had "words" prior to Oct. 14, 2015, the witness said, not to his knowledge, adding they had not spoken in five years.
The witness said his wife didn't want to go to the hospital with him that day "after having had her (sister) committed."
When Oesterreicher asked about the events at the hospital, Eddie Skorcz reiterated his earlier testimony.
"You were afraid," Oesterreicher asked.
"I wouldn't have shot my gun" otherwise, said Eddie Skorcz.