Crime & Safety

Man Accused in Belmont Bar Beating Death Due in Court Friday

Joseph Kaufman allegedly beat Belmont resident Barney Hanepen to death outside the Lariat Tavern in April 2013.

A preliminary court hearing will be held Friday for Joseph Patrick Kaufman, the 23-year-old San Carlos man accused of beating a Belmont man to death after a night of drinking at the Lariat Tavern in Belmont last spring. 

The case is set in Redwood City Felony Court, before Judge Joseph Scott, for the preliminary hearing with a one-and-a-half day estimate.  This is the second setting of the preliminary hearing date since Kaufman was arraigned May 10, 2013. 

The victim, Barney Hanepen, 48, was found unconscious in the 800 block of Broadway in Belmont in the early morning hours of April 29, 2013. 

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According to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, Kaufman, and the victim were drinking separately at the Lariat Tavern into the early hours of Monday April 29, and after closing at 2:15 a.m., the two got into an argument outside the bar over the victim’s female friend. Once outside the bar, the argument turned violent with Kaufman punching the victim in the face, pushing him to the ground and repeatedly kicking him in the head and torso until the victim was bloody and unconscious.

Hanepen died at Stanford Hospital on May 2.

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The defendant remains in custody on no bail status. The defense attorney is Jeff Jackson.

The deputy district attorney on the case is Jeffrey R. Finigan.


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