Atlanta Hawks swingman Thabo Sefolosha was found not guilty of all three charges on October 9th, ending a two-day trial that included Sefolosha, Pero Antic and key witnesses taking the stand.
Sefolosha was charged with three misdemeanors including obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, and he pleaded not guilty to all charges stemming from an April incident after being involved in an altercation with multiple police officers. The officers alleged Sefolosha failed to leave the scene of a crime which saw fellow NBA player Chris Copeland and two other individuals get stabbed outside of 1Oak night club in Brooklyn, New York.
Now, Thabo is cleared of all the charges.
Following from Robert Silverman of ‘The Daily Beast’.
BREAKING: THABO SEFOLOSHA: NOT GUILTY OF ALL THREE CHARGES.
— Robert Silverman (@BobSaietta) October 9, 2015
The jury in the Sefolosha trial deliberated for a total of one hour — 30 mins yesterday, 30 this morning.
— Robert Silverman (@BobSaietta) October 9, 2015
And Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Thabo Sefolosha found not guilty of all three charges.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) October 9, 2015
The case had some weird details with it. There was both Sefolosha and Antic who testified that Thabo was giving money to a homeless man when he was taken down. Sefolosha suffered multiple injuries during the incident and it cost him the Hawks’ playoff run but Police claimed that Sefolosha’s injuries – including a broken leg – were suffered before the incident. That seems unlikely due to Sefolosha playing in a game just earlier that same day.
The Hawks wing rejected two plea deals of only a day of community service and six months probation and it would have likely been easier than a trial but Sefolosha wanted justice to be served.
Following from David Aldridge of Turner Sports.
Sefolosha's agent says his client's thrilled: "we rejected two plea deals b/c it was very important for him to get complete vindication."
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) October 9, 2015
This verdict in favor of Thabo possibly sets him up for a civil suit against the NYPD due to the fact they appeared to be the reason he missed so much time away from basketball and he still has yet to get on the court.
