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Wake Forest Asst. Basketball Coach Punches Tourist Who Later Dies...

LesClaypool

LesClaypool

Ultimate Seminole Insider
Jan 12, 2004
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https://www.yahoo.com/sports/wake-f...y-new-york-city-attack-tourist-225423988.html

I'm amazed that this sort of thing doesn't happen more often. Furthermore, I'm so grateful nothing like this ever happened to me (or because of me) when I was in high school, acting like a jackass, running with a crowd that tended to get in too many fights.

Report: Wake Forest assistant charged in deadly New York City attack on a tourist

A Wake Forest assistant basketball coach has been charged with assault after a deadly attack on a Florida tourist in New York City, the New York Post reported Thursday.

Jamill Jones allegedly slugged Boca Raton marketing professional Sandor Szabo so hard on Sunday that he fell backward, hit his head on the concrete and lost consciousness. Szabo was on life support through Monday but died Tuesday.
 
When I first read this I thought poor guy, but then it’s being reported the deceased was drunk and banging on windows and had already punched a local resident who came out to see what all the commotion was about.

I think the assistant coach’s mistake was leaving the scene.

Just a pretty run of the mill dispute that changed lives forever. Sad all around.
 
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Drunk guy looking for a fight gets in one and dies.

People that can not handle their booze and still drink really bother me. Either handle it or quit drinking.
 
Is anyone other than the NY Post (and others citing the Post) claiming the victim punched someone? Most of the articles I've read so far only say he was knocking on windows trying to find his Uber. There isn't a quote or anything from the alleged local resident the NY Post mentions. There are quotes from the 17 year old witness who helped Jones prop Szabo up against a car to keep him from choking on his own blood before Jones got back in his car and left the scene.
 
I saw this story on the news a couple of days ago and they made no mention of the guy who threw the punch being an assistant bball coach at WF. Just stated the guy was trying to find his uber and up there for his sister in laws wedding; no mention of being drunk or a previous fight.
 
Wake Forest assistant men's basketball coach Jamill Jones has been arrested and charged with third-degree assault in connection with the death of a 35-year-old Florida man who was in New York City for a wedding.

Jones turned himself into police Thursday afternoon and was arraigned Thursday night at Queens County Criminal Court. Jones was released on his own recognizance and was ordered to return to court Oct. 2.

"We have just been made aware of this matter and we are gathering information," a Wake Forest spokesman said. "We will make a further statement after we learn more about the matter."

According to police, Jones allegedly punched Sandor Szabo in the face following a confrontation in the early morning hours Sunday that began when Szabo knocked on Jones' car window thinking it was his Uber ride.

The fact that he was only charged with a misdemeanor and allowed to leave until his court date alludes to the possibility that police think there was something that preceded the fatal blow.

That said, I would think that leaving the scene would warrant a greater charge.
 
OrlandNole said:
Wake Forest assistant men's basketball coach Jamill Jones has been arrested and charged with third-degree assault in connection with the death of a 35-year-old Florida man who was in New York City for a wedding.

Jones turned himself into police Thursday afternoon and was arraigned Thursday night at Queens County Criminal Court. Jones was released on his own recognizance and was ordered to return to court Oct. 2.

"We have just been made aware of this matter and we are gathering information," a Wake Forest spokesman said. "We will make a further statement after we learn more about the matter."

According to police, Jones allegedly punched Sandor Szabo in the face following a confrontation in the early morning hours Sunday that began when Szabo knocked on Jones' car window thinking it was his Uber ride.

The fact that he was only charged with a misdemeanor and allowed to leave until his court date alludes to the possibility that police think there was something that preceded the fatal blow.

That said, I would think that leaving the scene would warrant a greater charge.
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I think it just means they haven't fully established that the punch was the cause of death, and that punching someone in and of itself isn't a felony. I would imagine that the charges are going to increase significantly.
 
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RangerNole said:
I saw this story on the news a couple of days ago and they made no mention of the guy who threw the punch being an assistant bball coach at WF. Just stated the guy was trying to find his uber and up there for his sister in laws wedding; no mention of being drunk or a previous fight.
Click to expand...

The more recent reports are more detailed as they know more information.

The thing that stands out to me when I was reading reports yesterday was the victim banging on car windows. I’m not dismissing the Wake coaches action and no one deserves to die like that but why is this guy banging on car windows in NYC at 1am? That’s just a recipe for an altercation.
 
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southgateNOLE said:
why is this guy banging on car windows in NYC at 1am? That’s just a recipe for an altercation.
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Have to keep in mind how alcohol works. It shuts down higher brain functions like reasoning.
The ‘lizard brain’ he was left with was pawing at cars because it wanted inside a car. Quit expecting drunks to act rationally and things make more sense.

Also, from now on I’m only callin someone ‘unarmed’ if they look like Nick Vujicic.
 
cfbfan23 said:
He should have just shot him....in Florida.
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As a fun counterfactual, what if Drejka had fallen into a curb and died after getting bum rushed?
I wonder what charges would have fallen upon his assailant.
 
seminole97 said:
As a fun counterfactual, what if Drejka had fallen into a curb and died after getting bum rushed?
I wonder what charges would have fallen upon his assailant.
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Manslaughter would be my guess. In both instances, someone dies. In your scenario, the other one likely goes to prison, as well.
 
I know a guy who was driving
cfbfan23 said:
Manslaughter would be my guess. In both instances, someone dies. In your scenario, the other one likely goes to prison, as well.
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I know a guy who was driving late at night in Orlando. A drunk person stepped in front of him on a corner in front of a crowded restaurant and the kid died when they hit their head on the ground. He got manslaughter and went to prison for about 5 years.
 
travnole said:
I know a guy who was driving


I know a guy who was driving late at night in Orlando. A drunk person stepped in front of him on a corner in front of a crowded restaurant and the kid died when they hit their head on the ground. He got manslaughter and went to prison for about 5 years.
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Had to more to it than this. The driver must have been drinking even if not legally drunk, or some other way distracted to cause him not to be able to avoid hitting the guy. Pedestrians have the right a way but that does not immediately assign guilt to a driver if someone walks out in front of them and the collision is unavoidable.
 
Wife had a friend who had some words with a guy at a bar. Ended up out front, few punches were thrown, other guy went down, hit his head on the curb and died. Her friend spent a few years in jail.
 
BelemNole said:
Wife had a friend who had some words with a guy at a bar. Ended up out front, few punches were thrown, other guy went down, hit his head on the curb and died. Her friend spent a few years in jail.
Click to expand...

That sucks. Nobody expects somebody to die in a routine fist fight but you never know.

I avoided fighting after middle school when we started getting bigger and I saw people get hurt pretty bad.
 
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This is weird. It sounds like a self defense thing, but certainly possible he went overboard. I think this is a story more details need to come out.
 
Cubs79 said:
This is weird. It sounds like a self defense thing, but certainly possible he went overboard. I think this is a story more details need to come out.
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Yeah. I am guessing there needs to be more. The part that may get him in trouble is walking away after he knocked him out. If he truly did no wrong, the right move probably would have been to call the cops and maybe ambulance and report what happened and get the guy medical attention as quickly as possible.
 
Formerly Rockymtnole said:
That sucks. Nobody expects somebody to die in a routine fist fight but you never know.

I avoided fighting after middle school when we started getting bigger and I saw people get hurt pretty bad.
Click to expand...

Same here. Those knockout videos you see posted on the internet are absolutely brutal. I’m thankful myself or no one from my family has been in a situation like that before.

And I’m surprised that doesn’t happen more often. Those videos you see of guys getting laid out, their heads always crash off of the ground.
 
I still haven't seen any outlet besides the NY Post mention the victim punched another person before Jones knocked him out. The consistent reporting is Szabo's phone died so he couldn't communicate with his Uber driver, so he resorted to knocking on cars to see if it was his Uber or not. He may have been drunk and doing it in an obnoxious manner, probably too aggressively, and when he banged on Jones's car he retaliated by getting out and punching him. Witness who tried to help Szabo said Jones saw he was struggling to breathe and choking on his own blood, so they moved him to a seated position and Jones left the scene. Maybe Szabo was raving drunk and provoking fights, but seems a bit far-fetched. If Jones was nervous about a lunatic hitting cars, not sure why he confronted the guy. Seems the safer option would be to drive away. Instead he hit a guy hard enough to cause his ultimate death then left the scene without calling 9-1-1 and waiting for help. Maybe the guy could've been saved. Not a good look.
 
Gonolz said:
Sounds like a clear case of Stand Your Ground. Police never should have arrested him. They have that in NY too, right?
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Thankfully NYS doesn't have that insanity.
We have a Castle Doctrine that isn't nearly as permissive.
 
MIKE_G said:
I still haven't seen any outlet besides the NY Post mention the victim punched another person before Jones knocked him out. The consistent reporting is Szabo's phone died so he couldn't communicate with his Uber driver, so he resorted to knocking on cars to see if it was his Uber or not. He may have been drunk and doing it in an obnoxious manner, probably too aggressively, and when he banged on Jones's car he retaliated by getting out and punching him. Witness who tried to help Szabo said Jones saw he was struggling to breathe and choking on his own blood, so they moved him to a seated position and Jones left the scene. Maybe Szabo was raving drunk and provoking fights, but seems a bit far-fetched. If Jones was nervous about a lunatic hitting cars, not sure why he confronted the guy. Seems the safer option would be to drive away. Instead he hit a guy hard enough to cause his ultimate death then left the scene without calling 9-1-1 and waiting for help. Maybe the guy could've been saved. Not a good look.
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Little advice...in this situation (or super drunk person who may choke on vomit or any situation where someone may choke on various bodily fluids)....roll the person on their side. Don't put them on their back or front, don't sit them up, make sure theyr'e on their side and can't roll over.
 
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