They stood in a row like obedient schoolboys, shoulder to shoulder, softly and deferentially repeating phrases like “yes, ma’am,” and “yes, your Honor.” The men known as the Pike’s Pub Six were in court Friday in front of Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull to find out whether or not they would face a jury together in what is known as a joinder trial for the beating of James Simmons on May 30 at Pike’s Pub in Waynedale.

Five of the six charged who - Douglas Zuber, Christopher Yoho aka Chris Woho, Ryan Minick, Jerrad Impton and Wert - are scheduled to appear Sept. 26 in front of Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull. Vard Warnock, the sixth defendant charged a week later after a misidentification, still has a hearing on Aug. 25, according to online court documents.

At 1:20 a.m. on Sept. 15, 2023, two people - Royal Davis, Jr. , 38, and Jessica Fuentes, 31 - burst into the back door of the home at the corner of Saint Marys and Margaret Street, disrupting a familiar family scene.

The 3-year relationship between Jeffery Harris and Kanikia Coleman had barely ended, however, when Harris turned up at her home one night in January 2022 and apparently went haywire.

This time around, at a second trial, hope turned to disappointment. Thursday, a jury found Allen guilty on two counts: child neglect resulting in death and aggravated battery. Both are Level 1 felonies meaning considerable prison time. On each count, he could be sentenced between 20 to 40 years.

Allen, 35, is accused of delivering a blow so hard to his 17-month-old daughter’s abdomen that her mesentery was “shredded,” Wagner said. She died early on Feb. 25, 2021.

Allen was charged in March 2021 with neglect of a child resulting in death and aggravated battery, both Level 1 felonies that carry potential prison sentences of between 20 and 40 years.