Jamill Jones (Wake Forest University)
Feb. 7, 2020 By Kristen Torres
A North Carolina basketball coach was convicted of assault Thursday after the 2018 one-punch death of a tourist in Long Island City.
Jamill Jones, 37, who was an assistant coach for Wake Forest University’s men’s basketball team, was found guilty of third-degree assault after a week-long jury trial. He now faces up to one year in jail, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Police said Jones punched Sandor Szabo, 35, of Boca Raton, FL. on Aug. 5, 2018 around 1:15 a.m. in front of 41-10 29th St.
Szabo was heading back to his hotel after attending a family wedding when he ran into Jones, who was parking his SUV also on his way back to a nearby hotel.
Szabo banged on the back of the car and possibly shattered the rear window of Jones’ car, according to the District Attorney’s office. Jones then confronted him and punched him once in the face.
Szabo, who fell to the ground with his head hitting the pavement, was taken to a nearby hospital with traumatic brain injuries. He died two days later.
“The defendant could have driven away from the scene or called 911,” Katz said in a statement. “Instead, he retaliated by getting out of his car and punching the victim.”
“This was a death that could have been avoided, sparing the victim’s family the loss of a loved one,” she added.
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5 Comments
Awful verdict. The man was defending himself and his property from an out of control, violent drunk. He used a perfectly reasonable amount of force given the circumstances. The “victim” is responsible for his own death.
Anonymous- You’re mistaken, to quote the article “ Szabo banged on the back of the car and possibly shattered the rear window of Jones’ car, according to the District Attorney’s office. Jones then confronted him and punched him once in the face.“ That’s not the definition of self defense that is actually the definition of “assault”. Just because someone committed a crime or you “believe” somebody committed a crime doesn’t give you the right to commit a crime. Well except if you’re a Republican US President with a stacked court.
Reasonable response. Unfortunate outcome. What if he was making a citizens arrest and they were resisting?
Something to think about before putting your hands on someone who is unarmed.
sounded like they were both unarmed…