
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 36-year-old Stillwater man has been accused of punching a co-worker, who suffered a severe laceration on the left side of his head that caused him to fall down a 20-foot-deep pit at the Stillwater Mill, according to court documents.
Derrence Jamal Greenup was arrested at 11:27 am on Sept. 22 at the Stillwater Mill and freed on Oct. 3 on $10,000 bail pending a Dec. 19 court appearance on a felony charge of aggravated assault and battery punishable by up to five years in prison on conviction.
When Stillwater Police Officer Justin Sappington arrived, the victim was lying on his back and bleeding from a large laceration on the left side of his head, an affidavit said. “Several paramedics were tending to (him) at this time, so I was unable to speak with him,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
A witness said that the victim “was down in the ‘pit’ working by himself. He stated that he yelled at other workers on the deck to come assist him, so he wasn’t working alone,” but an argument started between the victim and Greenup, the affidavit alleged.
He said the victim “climbed the ladder and when he got to the top, Greenup punched him in the face,” and the victim “fell back down the ladder and to the bottom of the pit,” estimated to be about 20 feet deep, the affidavit alleged.
“Officer Galbiso stated he spoke with Greenup, who admitted to punching (the victim) during an argument,” but claimed that the victim got off the ladder and approached Greenup, the affidavit alleged.
“Greenup told Officer Galbiso that he was trying to walk away and was up by the stairs when he punched,” the victim, the affidavit said. “I informed Officer Galbiso that did not make sense with the scene I was looking at. We walked back and observed the scene where (the victim) was punched and fell back into the pit,” Officer Sappington wrote in his affidavit.
Asked to explain again what he saw, the witness said that the victim “was still on the ladder when Greenup struck him in the face,” the affidavit alleged.
Another witness said that when the victim got to the top of the ladder, “Greenup punched him in the face which caused him to fall backwards into the pit,” the affidavit alleged.
Officer Sappington said he arrested Greenup for the felony because, “I believe that punching someone off a ladder and causing them to fall 20 feet to solid ground below has the capability to cause serious bodily harm if not death.”