Troy man arrested for assault in locker room brawl
Published 5:01 pm Tuesday, September 4, 2012
A Troy man has been arrested for his involvement in an altercation following a football game last week that sent a Goshen High School assistant coach to the hospital.
Jason Larenzo Simmons, 36, turned himself into the Pike County Sheriff’s Department at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and was charged with second-degree assault. Lawmen say he allegedly struck a coach following the school’s Aug. 30 football game against Pike County High School. Simmons is the father of two Goshen students.
According to the Sheriff’s Department, striking a school official or teacher in the performance of their duty is a class C felony. Simmons was released after he posted bond, which was set at $5,000.
Sheriff Russell Thomas said petitions have also been issued against four Goshen football players, all minors, who where also involved.
“We will go ahead this week and move forward with administrative hearing with the school system,” Pike County Schools Superintendent Mark Bazzell told the The Messenger. “Three of the four have already withdrawn from the school system. There is one other who may face some disciplinary action, but that will be handled at the local school level.”
The incident began with one of Goshen’s players being disruptive in the field house. Coaches and other players attempted to calm him down and that’s when things escalated. Police say Simmons rushed inside the field house and punched one of the coaches. The coach was treated for minor injuries at Troy Regional Medical Center and was released shortly thereafter.
Weeks said last week that changes to game polices and procedures are in the works and restricting certain areas on and around the field would be at the top of that list.
Bazzell shares Weeks’ resolve to prevent future episodes from happening.
“The incident that occurred last Thursday is certainly out of character for the Goshen community and Goshen High School,” Bazzel said. “It’s unfortunate. It’s certainly not something we are going to tolerate.”
Weeks could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Robbyn Brooks contributed to this report.