An Edna man was acquitted by a Jackson County Jury on March 11. Charles Lester Callis Jr. went home after court on Tuesday, when a jury of his peers found that the State did not prove Callis had intentionally or recklessly injured his ex-girlfriend.
Callis was charged with Assault Family Violence with Previous Conviction, a third-degree felony with a range of punishment of two to 10 years in prison, and a fine of up to $10,000.
The case revolved around a set of keys that Callis was accused of throwing at Mickalla Ashley, with whom he shares a child, injuring her neck and shoulder area. He was also accused of pushing her into a door frame, causing an earring to puncture her skin.
Assistant District Attorney Tom Dillard called to the stand law enforcement officers to testify that Ashley had been suicidal the night before the incident because she was “tired of being his punching bag,” and showed body camera video of the injuries Ashley sustained the day Callis was arrested.
Callis testified in his own defense, saying that, while the couple did argue that day, he had not intended to hit Ashley with the keys, but she accidentally moved into their path, causing the redness and scratches shown on the body camera. He also claimed that she had hit him multiple times, something that was echoed by a relative on the stand. The witness testified that she overheard him asking Ashley to stop hitting him.
Callis’ attorney John Evans argued that, whatever happened that night, the case was at best a “he said, she said” with no concrete evidence that Callis had intentionally or recklessly harmed her, and that the standard of reasonable doubt had not been met.
After a day of testimony, the jury returned with a Not Guilty verdict.
