A 24- year- old Chester resident has been charged with Aggravated Assault. This charge comes from a Feb. 11 altercation outside of an uptown bar. Jamal Muhammed Allen is accused of assaulting a husband and wife outside the Spare Rib on the 100 block of East Gay Street. The trial of Commonwealth vs. Allen began on Nov. 28.
West Chester Police Department units responded to the report the night the incident occurred. According to police reports, officers found Eugene Millbourne, whose uncle owns the Spare Rib, unconscious on the sidewalk in front of the bar. Millbourne had later testified that his eyes had swelled up, his nose was broken and he felt dried blood on the back of his head as a result of the incident, which he had very little recollection of.
Jessica, Millbourne’s wife, had a better recollection of what occurred that night. She told police that she and her husband went to the Spare Rib to pass time before seeing a movie, but decided to remain at the bar.
Police reported that not too long after the bar closed, Jessica Millbourne had a conversation with the bartender about a subject, who was later identified as Allen.
Jessica told police that Allen had then punched her in the head. Her husband immediately intervened and had a brief altercation with Allen before he left the bar.
According to police reports, later in the evening, when the Millbournes were leaving the Spare Rib, Allen and two unidentified individuals came from Matlack Street up to Gay Street and confronted Eugene Millbourne.
According to the WCPD, one of the men had a brief conversation with Millbourne and then punched him in the face. The rest of the group, including Allen, then began to kick Millbourne repeatedly in the head. Millbourne’s wife reported that her husband was soon found unconscious and unable to get up off the ground.
During the court meeting, the tapes of both the hysterical 911 call to the West Chester Police Department, made by Jessica Millbourne, and the communication between Dispatchers, Paul Widmayer and Chris Jones and investigating officers were played for the jury. Police stated that the transmissions noted that one of the actors was wearing dredlocks, which matched Allen’s description.
When Jessica Millbourne returned to work at the Chester County Hospital, she immediately notified the WCPD after spotting Allen at the hospital. Allen was then taken to the police station and formally arrested after he gave a written statement.
Two residents of an apartment across the street from the Spare Rib reported they heard the altercation from inside their apartment and heard Millbourne say that he did not want to get into a fight. One of the residents testified that he had gone outside to check on the victim, but the suspected assailants had fled the scene.
Donald Lindsay told police he had attempted to break up the scuffle that had occurred earlier inside of the bar between the Millbournes and Allen.
According to police reports, the jury in the trial, which deliberated for nearly six hours on four separate occasions, has yet to agree on a verdict on Aggravated Assault. However, it did convict Allen on charges of Simple Assault and Recklessly Endangering Another Person.
If the jury is unable to reach a verdict on this count, despite reaching other verdicts, a mistrial will have to be declared.
Lindsay Heil is a fourth-year student majoring in professional studies with minors in health and journalism. She can be reached at LH589265@wcupa.edu.