11/9/2009
ERIN MATHEWS
A Brookville man testified in his own defense Monday in Saline County District Court, saying that the knife that paralyzed his girlfriend’s brother was not his and he had not used it in an altercation.
Steven H. Weis Jr., 25, gave an account of the fight that differed in several details from prosecution witnesses’ version of events in the early morning hours of July 13, 2008, in central Salina. Jury deliberations are expected to begin today after closing arguments.
Contrary to previous testimony, Weis and his former girlfriend, Alicia Napoleone, both testified that he had not struck her and they had not argued while he attempted to start her Jeep that night. It had died previously that evening in front of a friend’s house. She left it there before catching a ride to a couple of bars with her brother and some friends.


For more on this trial, read reporter Erin Mathews' story in Tuesday's Salina Journal.