Father, son sentenced for revenge attack

ZANESVILLE - Earlier this year, a 50-year-old Zanesville man joined his 29-year-old son in a hunt across town for revenge against another man. When they found him, they beat him almost to death, officials said.

Kyle Grimes, the son, was sentenced Monday in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court to five years in prison for felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and one year in prison for tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. Both of those sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

His father, Robert Grimes, was sentenced to two years in prison for felonious assault and one year in prison for tampering with evidence, and both of those sentences also were ordered to run concurrently.

They also were ordered to pay $5,128.71 in restitution.

"This was a very violent attack where (Kyle) Grimes and his father pursued the victim across town," Muskingum County Assistant Prosecutor John Litle said in court. "It's a pretty serious offense."

On April 28, both Kyle and Robert Grimes went to a home of a person on Brandywine Boulevard who had a previous confrontation with Kyle Grimes. They attacked the victim with brass knuckles that had metal prongs specifically for stabbing and puncturing, officials said. The victim suffered from puncture wounds, cuts and abrasions.

Both Litle and Common Pleas Judge Mark Fleegle expressed confusion that Robert Grimes, who has virtually no criminal record, doesn't do drugs and rarely drinks alcohol, would accompany Kyle Grimes, who does have a felony criminal record, to the attack.

"It's kind of baffling how he would join his son in driving across town to hunt this man down," Litle said.

In a statement to the court, Robert Grimes apologized for what he had done. He was upset about the victim's initial confrontation with his son, and he feels badly about what happened later. He lost control of the situation, he said.

"(It was) probably the worst night of my life," he said.

Fleegle said he couldn't understand the man's actions.

"There's no plausible explanation you can give me," he said. "There's no excuse for what you did, and you know that."

But Fleegle also said there was no indication Robert Grimes would do anything like it again. His most recent law violation was a traffic citation in 1991.

The previous confrontation with Kyle Grimes took place some time before the retaliation, and Litle said in court that the initial confrontation and retaliation were rooted in drugs and drug distribution. Before sentencing, he argued Kyle Grimes, who was released from prison months before the attack, should receive six years in prison for the felonious assault.

Kyle Grimes also apologized for his actions in front of the court.

"I really wish things would have turned out differently that night," he said.

In addition to having two prior felonies, Kyle Grimes also fled a treatment center for drugs and alcohol, Fleegle said. After the original assault, he got his father and weapons and went to retaliate despite having time to calm down and make different decisions.

"There was a cooling off period," Fleegle said. "It's inexcusable."

ksnyder2@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

740-450-6752

Twitter: @KL_Snyder