PANAMA CITY — One of four men charged in connection with the death of a man who was beaten lifeless in front of his son during a confrontation at a field party was sentenced to probation Friday.
John L. Belosic, 18, was waived up to adult court after an October field party off Old Allanton Road led to the death of 48-year-old Jackie D. McClendon. Authorities reported a confrontation ensued after McClendon and two other men showed up to the party. Only Belosic and a group of younger men were charged as aggressors in the melee, according to court records.
Belosic was sentenced to four years of probation Friday for fighting with McClendon’s son, while McClendon was beaten to death. Jay Green, 21, of Youngstown, and Chad Mercer II, 18, of Panama City, initially were charged with his death.
According to official reports, several young people fled the Oct. 18 field party a few miles south of State 22 on Old Allanton Road after a fight broke out about 1 a.m. between some of the partiers and a group of three men who arrived uninvited on four-wheelers. As the Bay County Sheriff’s Officers responded to the scene, drivers flagged them down to say they “needed to hurry because it was bad down there,” officers reported.
About 20 people were still around as McClendon lay on the ground, and his son lay over him with a bloodied face.
A verbal exchange between the younger group and the older men had escalated into a fight moments earlier, witnesses told officers. Witnesses saw Green first punch the son, 27-year-old Danny Mayo Jr., in the face and then knock McClendon out with a punch, officers reported.
One witness told officers Green said “that’s a one hitter quitter; I did that” after punching McClendon.
As McClendon lay unconscious on the ground, Mercer kicked him in the head, officers said. McClendon stopped breathing after the kick, and Mercer was charged with manslaughter.
Meanwhile, Belosic and Matthew Arthur Oberly, 18, further engaged in a fight with Mayo. Belosic brawled with Mayo, and Oberly struck him over the head with a beer bottle, causing permanent disfigurement, officers reported.
Officers said Green and Mercer have confessed to the attack, but what transpired leading to the confrontation remains unclear. Mayo and Green are both Youngstown residents.
Green’s charges have been reduced to aggravated battery and felony battery on another of the older men, 42-year-old Thomas Parker. Mercer also faces battery charges for allegedly attacking Parker.
Both Belosic and Oberly have now pleaded no contest to charges stemming from the attack. Belosic was sentenced to four years of probation for felony battery. Oberly’s charges of battery and disorderly conduct were reduced to misdemeanors and he was sentenced in April to a year of probation.
Both cases of Green and Mercer are pending. Mercer, who’s facing charges of manslaughter, was a student at Mosley High School at the time.