30-year-old Gray Jones was taken into custody on November 8 after punching Jeramie Channing Register at Sonny’s Patio Pub & Refuge in October 2023. Register reported that he was at the pub with his dog and began talking with Erika Rohrbaugh, Jones’ girlfriend, before being hit out of nowhere and falling over, holding his jaw. When he looked up, he saw Jones staring at him. He then spoke with a manager regarding the pain. Management agreed to call the authorities as Register refused an ambulance, but he went home after waiting a few hours for them to show. The following day, he went to Urgent Care for his jaw, but they did not have an X-ray machine, so they directed him to St. Thomas Ascension, who informed him that his jaw had been broken in half. Then he was sent to Skyline Medical Center for an emergency facial trauma surgery requiring him to have 14 screws and brackets inserted into his jaw and skull. Officers provided a photo lineup where he was able to identify Jones.
Jones spoke with officers and told them that he was at the pub with his girlfriend when Register began harassing her, getting in her face, and pestering everyone, so he “swung at him” after his girlfriend gave him “some looks.”
Rohrbaugh stated that she, Jones, and some of their friends were at the pub for a couple of hours before Register showed up drunk and began to annoy them. They tried to distance themselves, and she had to tell Register to move back but was scared to be too aggressive in fear of what he may do. She told her friend, Tyler Cortez, that Register was making her uncomfortable. Register started leaning toward her face and neck with his arm around her, so she gave Jones a “look,” and he Punched Register. She then said that she and Jones got an Uber and Left, conflicting with the footage provided by Sonny’s.
Cortez told officers that Register was lingering around them and was flirting with Rohrbaugh before she told him about him rubbing up against her, and when he went to the bar for a drink, he turned around. Everyone was gone besides Register, who was holding his face and talking with staff.
Sonny’s provided surveillance showing Register standing with his dog’s leash in his left hand as Jones is next to his dog. Rohrbaugh bounces and dances directly in front of Register while holding his right hand. She then spins and hugs him on his right side with her arm around his waist. Register gives her a couple of pats on the buttocks, and they continue to talk. Jones then winds up his left hand and punches Register in the jaw, knocking him back. Rohrbaugh holds out her hands, trying to create distance between the two. Register looks at Jones, loses his balance, and falls back onto a bench. Jones walks out of camera view, and Rohrbaugh stays with Register for the remainder of the video.
Jones was charged with aggravated assault.