Jury finds Charles City man guilty of two counts of abduction, assault and battery

A jury took less than an hour to convict a Charles City man on two counts of abduction and two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery.

Paul Ronold Gwaz, 64, of the 9000 block of Barnetts Road, was convicted on the offenses during a Dec. 2 trial that lasted just over six hours in Charles City Circuit Court. Two charges of misdemeanor damaging a phone line and one charge of misdemeanor assault and battery were dropped prior to the trial.

On Apr. 5, a witness was with Gwaz in a home of a relative when the witness went out to a porch to look for a dog. According to testimony, the dog was let out by Gwaz. When the witness returned to the home, they saw the victim on the ground with Gwaz on top.

“He had her pinned to the ground and he was beating her with his fist,” the witness testified.

Charles City Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Tyler Klink played audio from the call where the witness was yelling for Gwaz to get off the victim. Additional claims said that Gwaz had taken the phones, using one to record the incident to make it seem like the victims were hitting him and causing the chaos.

The witness said that they were able to get the victim off the ground. From there, the witness said that Gwaz had become more aggressive, pinning both the original victim and the witness in the chair.

“I couldn’t breathe,” said the witness. “I tried to grab his privates, but nothing was there. He also knocked off my glasses.”

The victim in the matter was very emotional. She said she was recovering from shoulder surgery before Gwaz’s encounter forced a setback. The victim said they received broken ribs, a clavicle injury, and additional bruises because of the attack.

Gwaz, who elected to represent himself during the trial, attempted to improperly cross-examine the testimony of both the witness and victim. Gwaz’s attempts were stopped several times due to not following the rules of counsel. But it was evident to those in the courtroom that Gwaz’s side of the story focused non-facts.

In closing, Klink argued the reasons why Gwaz was guilty of the crimes. Meanwhile, the defendant countered, with a statement comparing himself to a starfish.

After hearing the evidence, it took the jury less than an hour to render their decision and guilty verdicts on the four charges that remained against Gwaz. Formal sentencing for the defendant is scheduled for Feb. 17, 2023.