74-year-old bailiff assaulted

etruth.com ^ | 6 1 05 | Tom Dolan

[freepatriot32]

ELKHART -- A 23-year-old man facing jail time for a probation violation assaulted a 74-year-old bailiff before escaping from the Elkhart County Courts Building on Wednesday, according to authorities.

Aaron Macon appeared Wednesday afternoon in Superior Court 6 regarding a probation violation on a felony charge of marijuana possession. Judge David Bonfiglio found Macon had violated his probation by failing a drug test and told the defendant to sit and wait for a court security officer to take him into custody, Bonfiglio said.

"We always make them sit in the jury box until the officer comes up," he said.

Macon was heading for the door when part-time bailiff Jack Edson tried to stop him.

"He's not expected to provide security. That's just Jack's instinct," Bonfiglio said of the retired Elkhart police officer.

Macon pushed Edson into a wall and left the courtroom, the judge said. In the confusion, officers posted near the courthouse doors weren't told about the assault until after Macon left the building, said Lt. Dave McGuire of the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department.

Paramedics took Edson to Elkhart General Hospital, where he was treated and released Wednesday afternoon.

"He may have a separated shoulder," McGuire said.

In 20 years on the bench, Bonfiglio said Macon's escape was only the second time a defendant ran from the courtroom. The other was a juvenile, he said.

City and county officers searched the area but were unable to find the suspect, who is now wanted on a warrant.

Police records describe Macon as 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is being asked to call the sheriff's department at 533-4151.

Contact Tom Dolan tdolan@etruth.com.

[freepatriot32]

Aaron Macon

[John Robertson]

Can I be the first one to say, Maybe 74 is a tad old for a criminal court bailiff.

(Yeah, yeah, he works out every night and eats oatmeal every morning.)

[CindyDawg]

74 huh? Cool.

[endthematrix]

"They'll catch him eventually. It's just a matter of time. I just concentrate on this right now,” says Edson, pointing to his arm that is now a sling. Jack Edson will live with the sling for a couple of weeks and in a month can get back to work. He says in his 40 years working as a police officer and bailiff, this was the first time he was hurt on the job.

In his words, “[It] just goes with the territory.”

Courtroom bailiff Jack Edson tried to stop Macon, but was unsuccessful

http://www.wndu.com/news/062005/news_42636.php

[Enterprise]

Well, when they come for him again, they won't be 74 year-olds.

[Rebelbase]

It's time to retire, pop.

[thegreatbeast]

Being a bailiff isn't the hack job it used to be. A 74 year old man unwilling to get off the public teat or that poor woman bailiff in Atlanta who got tossed around like a rag doll by that killer-- we ain't in Kansas anymore. You have to be ready for anything nowadays.

[Randy Papadoo]

Sir, are you arguing against diversity, for age and gender discrimination?

Good. You're right.

[LibKill]

74 is simply too old to deal with theses punks.

The judge should retire this bailiff with honor and hire a gorilla with a black belt.

[Vote 4 Nixon]

Its not just bailiffs, When you go to apply for a job as a nuclear security officer you get passed up in favor of a fat middle aged female minority. Who in the hell are they gonna stop???????? The mere sight of them would only encourage any would be aggressor. The same applies to our prison system. A crying ass shame I call it.

[Rakkasan1]

I'm thinking bailiffs should look more like this