Assault suspect's appeal denied

SANDUSKY — A Lorain man convicted for assaulting a woman with a knife outside a Vermilion bar in 2015 had his appeal denied Friday.George Bartulica, 30, was sentenced to 120 days in jail and five years of community control sanctions after a jury found him guilty on charges of felonious assault, assault and tampering with evidence.Prosecutors claimed Bartulica took a knife from his pocket outside Rudy's Bar and Grill on Liberty Avenue Aug. 8, 2015, and cut a woman's arm during a fight, according to the appeal.During Bartulica's trial in June 2017, a man who was friends with the woman said he got into an altercation with Bartulica, the appeal states. She stepped into push Bartulica away from her friend, and when she looked down she saw her arm was bleeding.An emergency room doctor testified the cut was 10 centimeters long and required 42 sutures, according to the appeal.Vermilion police used a police K-9 to find a folding knife in a patch of sunflowers. Prosecutors also used Bartulica's blood-spattered sweatshirt as evidence in the trial.In his appeal, Bartulica's attorney, Eric Nemecek of Cleveland, made these arguments:• Prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence• The evidence presented was not credible for felonious assault and evidence tampering convictions• The court was wrong to allow testimony on blood spatter patterns without expert qualification• The prosecutor made improper remarks in their closing statement and denied Bartulica a fair trialThe appeals court ruled there was sufficient evidence, and that jurors could believe evidence to support felonious assault and evidence tampering convictions, according to the appeal. The court also said the blood spatter testimony — made by a Vermilion police officer — was admissible.Appeals judges also said the prosecutor's remarks, which included calling a knife a deadly weapon, did not deny Bartulica a fair trial.Bartulica originally had a restitution hearing set earlier this year in Erie County, but that hearing was canceled because the victim filed a civil lawsuit against Bartulica in Lorain County, according to a court document.Visit our Erie County Common Pleas court hub for more storiesReach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterGEORGE BARTULICA