Appeals court says no to overturning conviction for Sparta bar fight

A Monroe County man found guilty of starting a bar fight two years ago in Sparta claimed that the only thing he did to cause trouble was to take videos on his cellphone. 

Samuel Polhamus went to the state court of appeals, to have his conviction for disorderly conduct overturned, but a state appeals judge has turned him down. 

Polhamus argued that the disorderly conduct charge was improper, that he was the victim of other people’s misconduct, and that witnesses falsely testified against him. 

The court ruled that witness accounts and police video showed that the 58-year-old Polhamus was loud and confrontational, tried to provoke customers in the bar, and didn’t obey police requests to leave the scene.   

Polhamus eventually was hit by another customer during the fight in January of 2019.