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40 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, December 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 9, 2004 Man injured in park fight testifies to attack By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune The sound of air bubbling from his chest told Michael McKercher that he was seriously injured during a knife fight in Hawthorne Park last year. Although his lung was punctured and he collapsed before finding help, McKercher lived to testify Wednesday in the trial of Christopher Coffin, the homeless man who stabbed him and his friend, Gary Washebek. Washebek bled to death from his stab wounds while sitting at a park picnic table. Coffin has been charged with murdering Washebek and the attempted murder of McKercher. McKercher’s testimony contrasted with Tuesday’s version of the fight related by Coffin’s defense attorney, Andrew Vandergaw. Coffin was only defending himself against McKercher and Washebek, who attacked him after demanding money from him, the attorney said. Washebek, 50, who was known to the local homeless as Hawthorne Park’s "mayor," told Coffin that he took a "cut" of everything in the park, Vandergaw told jurors. McKercher, 34, denied he and Washebek ever demanded money from Coffin. When the two first met Coffin in the park the morning of Dec. 1, 2003, Coffin asked if they knew someone who would buy food stamps, McKercher said. They went to find a friend of Washebek’s who would make the sale but ended up going their separate ways. McKercher and Washebek happened upon Coffin in the park again later that day. Advertisement A veteran, Coffin had traveled to Medford to see an attorney about obtaining benefits, Vandergaw said. McKercher was out of work and had made his home in a box car. Washebek was living on disability. All three men came to the park that day to drink beer. McKercher testified that he returned from the park restroom to find Coffin yelling at Washebek while holding a six-foot-long wooden staff. McKercher told Coffin to leave, but he walked behind a nearby tree and then turned back toward the two smaller men. "I could already tell when he was coming back that he had one thing on his mind, and that was to fight," McKercher said. McKercher said Coffin had a pocket knife — the blade open — stuck into his waistband. Coffin hit him with the walking stick, McKercher testified, adding that he then wrenched the staff from Coffin’s grasp, and the two tumbled to the ground. The next thing McKercher said he remembered, he was on top of Coffin, trying to get the bigger man’s pocket knife, cutting his fingers in the process. McKercher said he realized Washebek — now sitting at a picnic bench — had been hurt because blood was soaking his socks and shoes. McKercher said he let Coffin up, and his attacker walked off across East Jackson Street. Police arrested Coffin several hours later in White City, where he had sought medical attention at the Veterans Affairs clinic. McKercher started walking toward Hawthorne Street but slumped to the ground under a tree. Larry McGuire, who saw the struggle from his car parked several hundred feet away, testified that Coffin shook the staff before McKercher grabbed it. He also said Washebek poked one of the men with the stick and then struck him several times while he was down. McGuire told police investigators that the man with the staff instigated the fight. Vandergaw tried to get McKercher to admit that he had been convicted last month of a misdemeanor assault on a homeless man. However, jurors didn’t get to hear of that crime. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Ray White ruled out of the presence of the jury that the evidence was not admissible. Vandergaw quizzed McKercher on his recollection of talks with detectives, asking him to read portions of police reports. The plaid flannel-clad man replied that he couldn’t read. Vandergaw challenged the reliability of McKercher’s memory when he said couldn’t remember how much time passed as the men sat drinking beer before the fight. "Time means nothing when you’re homeless," McKercher said. The trial will continue today. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . 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