The Fairborn High School student that Devon Hamilton’s attorney indicated may be responsible for Austin McCoy’s serious facial injuries said he went onto the basketball court to pull McCoy away from the scrum during a Jan. 27 game at Fairborn’s Baker Middle School.

Brandon Lewis, 16, testified Wednesday in Greene County Common Pleas Court that he swung his arm near McCoy’s chest in a grabbing motion but did not punch nor touch McCoy’s face. Later, Lewis admitted that not everything he initially told investigators was true.

Hamilton, a recent Fairborn grad, is charged with second-degree felonious assault for punching McCoy, then a Miamisburg High School junior basketball player. McCoy needed reconstructive surgery including a permanent titanium plate on the right side of his forehead.

Lewis testified that McCoy already was flying back toward him when he was grabbing McCoy. After McCoy hit the floor, Lewis said he left the court quickly because he knew he would get in trouble for leaving the bleachers and going onto the floor.

During cross examination by defense attorney Jay Adams, Lewis was presented with a May 15 videotaped interview he had in the presence of a prosecutor, a Fairborn police detective and Lewis’ mother. Lewis admitted that he was not fully truthful during that interview, which Lewis didn’t know was videotaped.

Between the video interview and his testimony, Lewis gave different versions of the reasons why he went onto the court, how many hands he used to pull McCoy away and why he quickly left the court.

Shortly after Lewis began his testimony, Judge Stephen K. Wolaver called the principles – including the court reporter - into his chambers after Adams asked the judge if Lewis was aware of his Fifth Amendment rights.

As a paid expert testifying for the defense, Dr. Richard Garrison said the area of McCoy’s forehead injury is the “most difficult place to break in the skull.” Garrison also said that a round-house punch is more likely to cause injuries similar to McCoy’s than a straight-on shot.

On cross examination, Garrison said a stronger person with some boxing training who is running could put more force into a punch than someone standing still. A Fairborn administrator previously testified that Hamilton incorporated boxing routines into his workouts.

The prosecution’s last witness was a Fairborn police officer who testified that Hamilton denied hitting McCoy the night of the incident. On cross examination, now-Det. Brian Neiford said he didn’t talk to Lewis the night of the incident.

The trial resumes Thursday morning with the defense’s final two witnesses and closing arguments before the jury gets the case.