A Waterloo man has been convicted of beating a woman at the Isle Casino in 2023, according to the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. The jury took just 20 minutes to deliberate before finding 53 year old Nersius Artisani, formerly known as Roger Hoffert Jr., guilty of felony Willful Injury Causing Serious Injury. Artisani ran into the woman at the Isle Casino on February 23rd. The woman testified that the two had known each other previously and began to talk. Artisani asked the woman for sex, which she refused and walked away. She then came back and knocked his drink onto him. Artisani then followed the woman to the area by the fountain where he punched her, sending her to the ground. Artisani then got on top of the woman and landing 12 more punches, most of which were thrown while the woman was unconscious. He then got up and kicked her six times. The woman was taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals with a traumatic brain injury and broken facial bones as well as cuts, bruises, and lost teeth. Artisani claimed at trial that the woman tried to sell him meth and then threw the drink on him when he said no. His lawyers claimed the woman then started to pull something from her pocket that Artisani believed was a knife and therefore he acted in self-defense. Artisani was also convicted of Willful Injury Causing Bodily Injury for stomping on the head of a fellow inmate while awaiting trial in this case. The woman also sued the Isle for negligence in connection with the attack. That case was settled out of court last month.
