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41 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, January 19, 2005 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 Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? 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 8, 2004 Defense says ‘victims’ started fatal fight By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Christopher Coffin stabbed the Hawthorne Park "mayor" in self-defense, his attorney said during Tuesday’s opening statements in Coffin’s murder trial in Jackson County Circuit Court. Gary Washebek, 50, bled to death and 34-year-old Michael McKercher suffered numerous stab wounds following a fight with Coffin in the east Medford park on Dec. 1, 2003. Coffin, 52, was charged with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and assault. Washebek and McKercher started the fight, defense attorney Andrew Vandergaw argued, because Coffin refused to give Washebek money as a tribute. Known among the local homeless as the park’s "mayor," Washebek told Coffin that he got a "cut" of everything that went on in the park. "The ‘mayor’ of the park was extracting the tax for being in his park," Vandergaw said. In her opening arguments, Prosecutor Karen Loomis said the opposite was true — Coffin antagonized McKercher and Washebek and attacked them when they asked him to leave the park. Advertisement Vandergaw said Coffin met Washebek and McKercher while he was drinking a 40-ounce beer at one of the park’s picnic tables the day of the murder. When the two badgered him for money, Coffin initially agreed to go to a nearby store and use food stamps to purchase items that the men could sell to buy alcohol, Vandergaw said. On the way, Coffin felt like the men were going to rob him, so he walked off on his own, the defense attorney said. After meeting with a Medford attorney about obtaining veterans benefits, Coffin wound up back at Hawthorne Park later that day, Vandergaw said. Washebek and McKercher also were there. They again started hassling Coffin, who got up to leave, Vandergaw said. When Coffin turned around to retrieve a red plastic rain poncho from a park bench, Washebek and McKercher threw off their coats and pounced on him, Vandergaw said. "They jumped him and attacked him, and the fight was on," he said. McKercher wrestled Coffin to the ground and tried to choke him while Washebek hit Coffin in the head with a broken tree branch, Vandergaw said. Afraid for his life, Coffin pulled out a pocket knife and slashed at the two men, who didn’t seem to feel the blows, the defense attorney added. Coffin ran from the park right out into traffic on East Jackson Street, Vandergaw said. He went into Sears and told a security guard that he was mugged in the park. However, Coffin asked the guard not to call police because he wasn’t on the best terms with local law enforcement, Vandergaw added. Coffin took a bus to the former Veterans Affairs Domiciliary in White City, where he was treated for cuts and scrapes on his head and a cut on his left middle finger. Police arrested him at a White City grocery store about five hours after Washebek’s body was discovered slumped over a park picnic table. Coffin’s knife sliced Washebek’s ankle and severed an artery in his leg. McKercher was stabbed in the chest, legs and hands. He left to get help but collapsed near Hawthorne Street, where police found him at 2:23 p.m. Officers said they believe the fight had taken place about an hour earlier. Loomis told jurors that Coffin was the aggressor. Armed with a 6-foot-long wooden staff, Coffin threatened Washebek with the walking stick. McKercher told Coffin to leave, but Coffin walked a short distance away, came back and started the fight that ended Washebek’s life, she said. "It is ironic that the place he cared about the most is the place where he was killed," Loomis told the court. The trial, presided over by Circuit Court Judge Ray White, is scheduled to run through Monday. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers