
Local business owner, school board member, and a man who has received numerous rounds of applause just from walking in a room since October 25th didn’t get an ovation Friday morning, but he did enter a not guilty plea. Kenny Hargrave, represented by Jonathan Turpin, appeared in White County court for a first appearance at 9am. He’s facing two misdemeanor counts of Battery following an altercation on Friday, October 25th.
More at… https://www.wrul.com/local-news/hargrave-free-after-incident-with-lovell-friday-night
While there’s almost no doubt Hargrave indeed hit David Lovell, there’s video of the event and numerous witnesses, the extenuating circumstances also come into play. Some at the scene accused Lovell of baiting Hargrave by parking a truck in a gravel lot across from Hargrave’s 5th Street Market, a business he owns. The official police report from the incident indicates that police told Lovell he had to move it because it was private property and even issued a citation due to a prior no trespassing warning. Lovell then moved the vehicle onto the street directly in front of the grocery store in what could be construed as an attempt to block patrons from parking there. That’s when what began as a verbal argument escalated into a physical altercation.
Police at the time signaled additional arrests could be made though none directly related to this case have been to this point. A pre-trial hearing has been set for January 31st at 9am. David Lovell wasn’t present at the courthouse for the hearing.