The assault case against Ellenton resident John Bartholow, 18, is in its final stretch.
But unexpected illness will stretch a bit longer.
A Sept. 7 sentencing hearing was canceled following Bradenton-based attorney Jon Weiffenbach’s Sept. 6 motion notifying the court that his client, Bartholow, was admitted that day to Manatee Memorial Hospital in Bradenton for “suspected appendicitis” and was set for surgery.
Weiffenbach’s motion stated that following the surgery Bartholow would be transported back to the Manatee County jail, where he is incarcerated.
Judge Stephen Whyte of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court canceled the hearing for Sept. 7.
Bartholow is one of the young men involved in a March 23, 2022, assault outside Anna Maria Elementary, 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, that sent resident Evan Purcell, 41, to the hospital with serious injuries.
The Holmes Beach Police Department identified Bartholow and arrested him, along with two others, within a month.
Bartholow was placed in custody at the jail under $50,000 bond and charged with a second-degree felony for battery resulting in great bodily harm. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
He posted $50,000 bond April 21, 2022, and was released into the county probation department’s pretrial services program.
Bartholow has been in and out of the county jail system since.
He was arrested again in May on a third-degree felony charge for alleged criminal mischief.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released after he posted a $1,500 bond in the same month.
Bartholow was arrested a third time in September 2022 for contempt of court by resisting/obstructing a law enforcement officer without violence but was released after he posted another $50,000 bond in October 2022.
He was arrested a fourth time in December 2022 on nine third-degree felony charges — three for burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and six for attempted burglary of an unoccupied conveyance.
He pleaded not guilty to the burglary charges but dropped his initial not guilty pleas for the aggravated assault and criminal mischief cases.
Bartholow instead pleaded no contest to the charges — allowing both cases to move forward to sentencing.
Sentencing was to be determined at the Sept. 7 hearing, which was canceled.
A sentencing hearing for the aggravated assault case was rescheduled to 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
A sentencing hearing for the criminal mischief case had not been rescheduled as of Sept. 7. A jury trial was not set for the burglary case as of Sept. 7.
Punishment for a second-degree felony includes up to 15 years in prison, 15 years of probation and a $10,000 fine.
Punishment for third-degree felony includes up to five years in prison, five years of probation and a fine of up to $5,000.