WFU asst. basketball coach arrested for assault

[BigWayne]

If that account is true, it means that the coach attacked Szabo while he was in retreat, and this is going to be ugly.

I saw that wording in my local paper this morning, which had picked up the AP story that had this wording. I just now looked all over the web for articles on this and found a variety of ways it was reported, with the AP story being the most inflammatory. There has not been a lot of public statements made by the police in this case and most of these news outlets seem to be re-reporting others stuff, so it's pretty hard to tell what really happened.

The charge currently appears to be misdemeanor 3rd degree assault, which is the best objective evidence of what the authorities believe took place. I'm sure a lot more detail will come out eventually.

[budwom]

I saw that wording in my local paper this morning, which had picked up the AP story that had this wording. I just now looked all over the web for articles on this and found a variety of ways it was reported, with the AP story being the most inflammatory. There has not been a lot of public statements made by the police in this case and most of these news outlets seem to be re-reporting others stuff, so it's pretty hard to tell what really happened.

The charge currently appears to be misdemeanor 3rd degree assault, which is the best objective evidence of what the authorities believe took place. I'm sure a lot more detail will come out eventually.

Based on (admittedly) what little I know, it seems like an unreasonably mild charge if in fact the coach got out of his car to punch the guy...why not just drive away?

[Acymetric]

Based on (admittedly) what little I know, it seems like an unreasonably mild charge if in fact the coach got out of his car to punch the guy...why not just drive away?

I think that was the original charge, and the coroner's report came out only recently, so the charge might get upgraded now that the coroner ruled it a homicide. Of course, we are also operating on much less information than the police/DA so there may be mitigating factors they know that we do not.

[kshepinthehouse]

Based on (admittedly) what little I know, it seems like an unreasonably mild charge if in fact the coach got out of his car to punch the guy...why not just drive away?

It’s tough. Punching someone is a misdemeanor. And it’s not like he bashed the guy’s face in with a barrage of punches. The guy was drunk and the coach hit him one good time, he fell and hit his head. Does it sound like a misdemeanor to me? Maybe not. Does it sound like a 2nd degree murder? Absolutely not. This is a tough one. I agree with others who think there may be some sort of manslaughter charge at most.

[golfinesquire]

I think that was the original charge, and the coroner's report came out only recently, so the charge might get upgraded now that the coroner ruled it a homicide. Of course, we are also operating on much less information than the police/DA so there may be mitigating factors they know that we do not.

The misdemeanor sounds about right to me. I gave the explanation on the previous page. Also, fyi, when the coroner rules the death a homicide, that simply means death by another. It is not a legal conclusion about the appropriate level of charges. That decision is made solely by the relevant district attorney’s office. and as a criminal lawyer in NY, I know what I am talking about.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Also, fyi, when the coroner rules the death a homicide, that simply means death by another. It is not a legal conclusion about the appropriate level of charges. That decision is made solely by the relevant district attorney’s office. and as a criminal lawyer in NY, I know what I am talking about.

Thank you, I wondered about that point...the minimum definition of homicide.