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Belmont County Commissioner Found Not Guilty
< < Back to belmont-county-commissioner-found-not-guiltyA Belmont County official up for re-election still faces unrelated misdemeanor charges after being found not guilty of assaulting a police officer.
Commissioner Matt Coffland will appear on the ballot for reelection this November.
He was found "not guilty" by a jury Friday.
Coffland was charged in July after an incident at Belmont's Jamboree in the Hills country music festival.
The alleged incident involved Coffland throwing a glass bottle at a liquor control agent, constituting a felony charge of assault of a peace officer.
Testimonies were heard from two liquor control agents and one from a concert-goer, all of whom testified Coffland was involved in the assault.
Coffland denied these actions when he took the stand Friday.
The trial was originally scheduled for November 7, the day after the election, but was moved by the defense as Coffland is currently running for re-election.
According to court documents, a complaint filed in Belmont County Court on April 1, outlines misdemeanor offenses that occurred at a Shadyside bar involving the obstruction of liquor control agents.