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SF David Lighty (Most Career Buckeye Wins, ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket - France)

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ABJ

6/9/06

OSU recruit arrested in BB-gun shooting

Guard David Lighty, two others charged

By Marla Ridenour

Beacon Journal sportswriter

Ohio State basketball coach Thad Matta's text messages from football coach Jim Tressel might include condolences over a player's brush with the law.

Buckeye basketball recruit David Lighty and two of his Villa Angela-St. Joseph teammates were arrested at about 9 p.m. Wednesday night after a man jogging at the high school's track reported being shot in the back by a BB gun.

According to police, the three were standing on bleachers holding the weapons when Cleveland officers made the arrests.

The victim, James Nugent of Cleveland, told police that after he realized he was hit he ``heard the three males laughing and say, `We hit him.' ''

Nugent said he was not injured.

Lighty, Jimmy McLeod of Cleveland and Darryl Rushton of Euclid were jailed until Thursday.

They were charged with assault, criminal activity on school property, possession of certain weapons in a public place and criminal trespass.

According to Lt. Thomas Stacho, public information officer for the Cleveland Division of Police, the municipal prosecutor's office recommended the facts be reviewed by a grand jury for consideration of possible felonious assault charges.

``We are aware of the incident,'' Matta said in a statement Thursday afternoon. ``In a situation like this, we always defer to the law. David is in our family and the university and I will work together on dealing with this matter.''

Director of Athletics Gene Smith had no comment.

Lighty, named first-team All-Ohio in Division III by the Associated Press, helped lead VASJ to the state finals, where it lost to North College Hill. Lighty is a member of the OSU recruiting class ranked with North Carolina's as the top two in the country.
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Canton

6/9/06

Ohio State basketball recruit Lighty arrested

Friday, June 9, 2006


CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio State basketball recruit was arrested after a jogger called police and said he had been shot with a BB gun.

No charges have been filed against Villa Angela-St. Joseph graduate David Lighty, 18, of Cleveland, and two of his former high school teammates who also were arrested Wednesday.

Lighty, Jimmy McLeod, 18, of Cleveland, and Darryl Rushton, 18, of suburban Euclid, were held overnight on suspicion of assault, criminal trespassing and criminal activity on school property, police said. They were released Thursday night.

Prosecutors plan to take the case to a Cuyahoga County grand jury. In Cleveland, BB and pellet guns are considered firearms and it is illegal to have them in public places.

“We were goofing around with each other and this man said he got hit,” Lighty told The Plain Dealer after he was released.

James Nugent, 55, was not seriously hurt when he was hit with BBs about 9 p.m. Wednesday while jogging on the school track, police Lt. Thomas Stacho said.

“He felt a sting in his back,” Stacho said Thursday. “He turned to see three kids sitting in the stands, giggling, thinking it’s funny. He heard one say, ’Ha, ha, I got him.”’

Lighty, a guard, was selected to The Associated Press All-Ohio first team three times. He averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists per game his senior year.

He signed a letter of intent to play at Ohio State beginning this fall and is a member of a recruiting class considered among the best in Buckeyes history.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta released a statement saying school officials were aware of the accusations against Lighty.
“In situations like this, we always defer to the law,” he said.
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Dispatch

6/9/06

OSU BASKETBALL

Recruit could be charged after incident with BB gun

Friday, June 09, 2006

Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Ohio State men’s basketball recruit David Lighty may face misdemeanor charges after his arrest Wednesday night when a jogger was shot with a BB gun.

Lighty, an All-Ohio guard from Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School in Cleveland, was being held in jail yesterday afternoon on suspicion of assault, criminal trespassing, criminal activity on school property and having certain weapons in a public place.

"We are aware of the incident," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said in a statement the university released yesterday. "In a situation like this, we will always defer to the law. David is in our family. The university and I will work together in dealing with this matter."

Cleveland police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho said Lighty was expected to be released from jail yesterday. Stacho said detectives met with city prosecutors and are expected to go to a grand jury next week for consideration of charges.

James Nugent, 55, was jogging on the VASJ track at about 9 p.m. when he passed by three young men sitting on the bleachers.

"They had this little toy gun," Nugent told The Dispatch. "It shoots these little plastic pellets. When I jogged by, one of them shot me in the back. I heard a pop and then felt a little sting in my back. I heard one kid laugh and say, ‘Oh, I hit him.’ "

Nugent said he was about 25 feet from the men when hit. Aside from momentary pain, Nugent said he was not injured.

He said he could not identify the shooter.

"They were all wearing white shirts," Nugent said. "I couldn’t tell who was who. I didn’t take a good look at them."

Wary of confronting the men, Nugent called police on his cell phone.

"There were four cops in two cars in plain clothes," he said. "It caught the kids by surprise."

The other two men arrested were Darryl Rushton and Jimmy McLeod, who were Lighty’s teammates on the Vikings basketball team that lost in the Division III final in March.

According to the police report, Lighty and Rushton immediately dropped their airguns when asked by police, but McLeod refused several times before complying.

Nugent said he called police because of a fatal shooting involving a BB gun five years ago, when a 13-year-old died after being shot in the back.

"I thought if somebody’s running around with these pellet or BB guns, somebody could get killed," Nugent said.

Two of the three airguns confiscated were Crosman Stinger P30s, which cost less than $20. The manufacturer’s Web site warns users to "always treat the airgun as though it is loaded and with the same respect you would a firearm."

Nugent is a 1969 graduate of VASJ. He said he did not know any of the suspects personally.
"I made it to one game this year," Nugent said. "I didn’t realize it was (Lighty). I hope the kid’s career is not ruined by this."

A phone call to Lighty’s home was not immediately returned.

Lighty, a 6-foot-6 guard, averaged 21 points last season after returning from knee surgery that prematurely ended his junior season. He is part of an acclaimed recruiting class that includes Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook.

[email protected]
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Police conclude Lighty investigation
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
From staff reports
Cleveland police have finished investigating the July 7 arrest of ex-Villa Angela-St. Joseph basketball stars David Lighty, Jimmy McLeod and Darryl Rushton. Lighty, a three-time All-Ohio selection, is part of Ohio State's highly touted 2006 recruiting class.

Lighty, McLeod and Rushton were arrested on suspicion of assault, criminal trespassing and criminal activity after James Nugent, 55, was shot in the back by a plastic BB while jogging at VASJ's track.

Police will make an application Monday to present the case to a Cuyahoga County grand jury, Cleveland police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho said. When the grand jury assigns the case to its docket, the police and the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office will present the case and ask that charges be filed.

After being hit with a BB, Nugent called police, who ordered Lighty, McLeod and Rushton to drop their BB-type guns. After the 2001 death of 13-year-old Raymond Bozak, who was shot in the back with a BB gun in Collinwood, Cleveland passed a law classifying BB and pellet guns as firearms.
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http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1154507998240550.xml&coll=2
 
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Grand jury will hear Lighty pellet gun case
Decision on whether to indict expected shortly
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A Cuyahoga County grand jury next week will consider whether to indict Ohio State men’s basketball player David Lighty and two others in connection with a June 7 incident in which a Cleveland man said he was shot with a plastic pellet gun.

Cleveland police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho said yesterday that the grand jury "shouldn’t take more than a week, week and a half" to decide whether to charge Lighty, a freshman at OSU, and two former teammates at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, Jimmy McLeod and Darryl Rushton.

The three were arrested on suspicion of assault, criminal trespassing and criminal activity after the incident, which occurred about 9 p.m. on the high school track.

The alleged victim, James Nugent, 55, of Cleveland, was "jogging laps around the track when he felt an object strike him in his back. He then heard the three males laughing and say, ‘We hit him,’ " according to a Cleveland police report.

Nugent told The Dispatch in a subsequent interview that the three were sitting on bleachers and "had this little toy gun (that) shoots these little plastic pellets. When I jogged by, one of them shot me in the back. I heard a pop and then felt a little sting in my back."

Air guns were confiscated from each of the three 18-year-olds after the incident, according to the police report. Nugent told The Dispatch that he called police on his cell phone because he was wary of confronting the three and because a 13-year-old Cleveland boy died in 2001 after being shot in the back with a BB fired by an air rifle.

"I thought if somebody’s running around with these pellet or BB guns, somebody could get killed," Nugent said.

In 2002, Cleveland lawmakers reclassified BB and pellet guns as firearms and prohibited them in public places. Ohio law does not consider them firearms.

Lighty, a 6-foot-5 guard, is a member of the 2006 Ohio State recruiting class that is rated one of the best in the country.

The class also includes fellow freshmen Greg Oden, Michael Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook and juniorcollege transfer Othello Hunter. All except Hunter have been enrolled in summer classes at the university since June. Hunter is completing credits at his Florida junior college before transferring.


[email protected]
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http://www.columbusdispatch.com/bball/bball.php?story=dispatch/2006/08/05/20060805-E8-01.html
 
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Sure but I also understand the difference.. They shot a guy for fun and games as he was running around the track minding his own business. Reminds me of those videos when those a*hole kids went around shooting people with paintballs. Harmless enough as well but there is not sense in it.

btw no I really did not know the difference. Here is a good link for those who don't either.. http://www.cimmerians.org/What_is_Airsoft_.html

Bottom line is why is he shooting at people with any type of gun?

And I have to eat crow here, I am constantly saying kids deserve second changest etc, I did with MoC, Izzarry, Boone, Bellasari, Smith, etc etc but to me this incident just screams immaturity and more headaches down the road.

I am sure I am taking this too far, but seriously regarldess of the type of weapon why the hell was he doing this in the first place?

Edit: bashing
 
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I am sure I am taking this too far, but seriously regarldess of the type of weapon why the hell was he doing this in the first place?
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b/c he's a kid, and they do stupid things sometimes. It also depends what type of airsoft gun... I thought the reports were that it wasn't a very powerful one, they are a lot more annoying than painful (unless you're at point blank range).
 
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I see CraigBlitz's point on this one. Maybe it's because of the shit we've seen in our athletic programs over the past MANY years. I'll disagree with the "because he's a kid" argument. He's a kid with an athletic scholarship to TOSU and it better hold you to a higher standard. Lighty lives only 20 miles away from me and has been reported to be a great kid in the local papers for the past 4 years. I have no doubt that David will be not only a great performer here but also a great representative of the University. But, the point here is that the guy was sitting around shooting projectiles at other human beings. That's a pretty shitty scenario.
 
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should Boone be gone? His he was driving a large 'projectile' that regularly kills people... as opposed to hollow plastic balls. The kid made a mistake... it was a dumb one, no doubt about that. But people are making way too much out of this.

I've been shot with one of these... there was a moron on my dorm floor who loved shooting people with them. If you weren't near him, it was more annoying than painful.
 
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jwinslow said:
should Boone be gone? His he was driving a large 'projectile' that regularly kills people... as opposed to hollow plastic balls. The kid made a mistake... it was a dumb one, no doubt about that. But people are making way too much out of this.

I've been shot with one of these... there was a moron on my dorm floor who loved shooting people with them. If you weren't near him, it was more annoying than painful.
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Thanks, jwin, for being a voice of reason (as usual).

I'm not trying to say his stupid prank should be ignored by the law, but I think that's where it should end. Much ado about diddly squat IMO.
 
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