Jesse Linderman found himself in court Friday, this time on the charge of battery.
A six-person jury in Latah County Magistrate Court acquitted Linderman of the charge that stemmed from an incident at a downtown Moscow bar in 2002.
The charge was based on an accusation that Linderman had inappropriately touched a 21-year-old woman as he entered a Moscow bar in August 2002. The woman, leaning over a podium outside, claimed that Linderman touched her under her skirt.
Linderman's attorney, Chuck Kovis, said his client was helping a drunk friend from the bar and had no contact with the woman. No one saw the incident happen.
"The victim had her back turned, she didn't see anything," he said. "She said it was him, because he was the one closer to him. There is no evidence that he did it."
Linderman was in the spotlight earlier this year, when he was accused of hiring a hit man, David Meister, to kill his girlfriend, Tonya Hart. Initial charges brought against Linderman were dropped because of a lack of evidence. Meister was found guilty of first-degree murder.
