By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

Bruce Dennis Earl III

WARSAW — A Warsaw man received a suspended sentence after punching a man in the face and breaking his jaw.

Bruce Dennis Earl III, 21, 520 N. Park Ave., Warsaw, was charged with battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a level 5 felony.

Earl was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court Two on Tuesday, March 2.

On Sept. 19, 2019, a Warsaw Police officer responded to a battery report. The officer went to see the victim at Parkview Hospital. According to court documents, the victim’s mouth was bloody; his face was swollen and his jawline had a protrusion that was off-center.

The victim told the officer his jaw was broken in three places and that Earl punched him in the face. He said he was sitting on a bed and had an argument with Earl when Earl punched him in the face.

Police went to Earl’s residence and spoke with a man who said he heard Earl and the victim arguing. When he went upstairs, he found the victim with a bloody face.

For battery resulting in serious bodily injury, Kosciusko Superior Court Two Judge Torrey Bauer sentenced Earl to two years in the Kosciusko County Jail. The sentence was suspended on probation. Earl has also been accepted into Kosciusko County Community Corrections and intends to transfer to Elkhart County Community Corrections.

Earl has 11 days of jail time credit in this case. A no-contact order is also in place between Earl and the victim.