The defense parties in the Dennis Sanderson civil suit rested Thursday, leaving just closing arguments and jury instructions before the nine women and three men begin deliberations.

On Oct. 14, 2006, Sanderson was in an alley behind the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity house at 331 N.W. 26th St. when he was shot in the leg with a .22-caliber rifle. Sanderson was looking in a trash bin for cans that he could redeem for deposit when he was shot.

Fraternity member Joshua Grimes was arrested three weeks later and eventually pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon and third-degree assault.

Sanderson is suing Grimes, the OSU chapter of AGR, the national AGR fraternity and the AGR foundation for medical expenses, punitive damages and for his pain and suffering.

Defense witnesses called Thursday included Philip Josephson, executive director of the national fraternity.

Josephson said the members had their guns locked up, which would have meant they were in compliance with AGR policy. He said there had been discussion of revoking the Corvallis charter, but it was decided the chapter as a whole shouldn't be penalized for the bad decisions of a few.

"I don't accept the premise that there was any culture of animosity toward the homeless," Josephson said.

AGR member Andrew Hayes said that Sanderson showed up at the fraternity house, yelling and apparently drunk, before Grimes was arrested. Sanderson was on the fire escape outside the house, yelling at people inside to "shoot me again." Hayes said a discussion among frat members later revealed that people had shot off BB guns at or near Sanderson.

Hayes also said he didn't see Sanderson display any signs of a leg injury.

A former cook for the fraternity said she occasionally heard the students shooting BB guns out there windows at leaves or squirrels. She and two other former AGR members testified they never saw guns unattended in the house.

Grimes, now 22 and a senior at Western Oregon University, said he was not shooting at Sanderson, but at the trash container behind him.

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