Man convicted in second denture-grabbing attack

For the second time in seven months, Yorktown resident Robert Henry Stahl - a former tavern owner and onetime candidate for Delaware County sheriff - has been convicted of battery in a case that saw him yank false teeth from the mouth of his victim. Muncie City Court Judge Bill Bruns found the 64-year-old Stahl guilty of the Class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum one-year jail term.

Victim Robert E. Hollars, 50, also of Yorktown, had told authorities he was attacked by Stahl last Sept. 24 after the men had quarreled outside the defendant's home, in the 2500 block of South Broadway.

"Stahl then ran up to me while my wife and I were sitting on our motorcycle," Hollars would tell Yorktown police. "Stahl then grabbed my head, and was trying to jam his thumb into my mouth with his other hand on the other side of my mouth trying to get my mouth open, telling me to give him my _______ teeth." Hollars said Stahl was able to pry his mouth open and then extracted a partial dental plate, in the process breaking the device and also chipping three of the victim's teeth.



The charge stemming from the attack on Hollars was filed on Oct. 14. Four weeks later, on Nov. 12, Stahl pleaded guilty to another misdemeanor battery charge, this one resulting from his removal of another man's false teeth in July 2007.

In that case, victim Billie Townsend, 56, told police Stahl punched him and put him in a headlock during a quarrel in a Yorktown alley, then reached into his mouth and pulled out his full set of dentures. Townsend told police Stahl told him, "You ain't getting these back," and walked off with his false teeth.

Stahl was originally charged with robbery, a Class C felony carrying a standard four-year prison term, in that case, but pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor battery charge as part of a plea agreement.