When Newton County officers responded to a call about an assault, James Norris stated that Timothy Gawenda had attacked him.

According to Norris, Gawenda and his girlfriend had come home and began accusing Norris of stealing items from their bedroom. Norris denied that he stolen anything from Gawenda's bedroom and Gawenda went outside to smoke a cigarette.

Gawenda then began telling Norris he was going to beat Norris up after he smoked his cigarette.

Once finishing his cigarette and disappearing into his room, Gawenda came back out of the bedroom and hit Norris four to five times, throwing him to the ground.

However, Gawenda told officers that he did not do it. He said that he pushed Norris out of his bedroom when he came at Gawenda's girlfriend. According to Gawenda, Norris merely fell after Gawenda pushed him "away from [his] old lady."

After hearing testimony from Gawenda's grandmother who verified Norris' story, officers noted that Norris had several cuts and bruises on his face and arrested Gawenda for battery.