Perry County jury hands down conviction

Published 11:22 pm Thursday, November 20, 2008

A Perry County jury has convicted Viva Clark of second-degree assault in a shooting that left a Marion man paralyzed.

The jury returned the verdict earlier this week.

Clark, who worked as manager of the Jameson Inn in Selma when the incident occurred in September 2006, faces a mandatory 10-year sentence.

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Robert Dunkin is wheelchair bound as a result of a gunshot wound to the neck.

“This case shows that men can also be the victim of domestic violence,” said District Attorney Michael Jackson. “Mr. Dunkin is lucky and blessed to be alive.”

Dunkin had claimed Clark came into their house in a drunken state and they argued. Earlier in the evening, Dunkin said he’d heard a commotion outside and had taken a pistol out and put it on the kitchen table.

At one point during the argument, Dunkin threw some grease from a skillet out the back door of the kitchen. Dunkin said he heard the hammer cock on the .38-caliber hand gun, heard the shot and fell to the floor.