Pioneer student charged in football melee returns to court next month
The Pioneer High School student charged with four assault counts in connection with the brawl between the Pioneer and Huron high school football teams will be back in court in two weeks.
Bashir Garain
Courtesy of WSCO
Bashir Garain, an 18-year-old Ann Arbor man, was in court for a pretrial hearing in front of Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Donald Shelton. Walter White, Garain’s attorney, said he’s waiting on discovery from Washtenaw County prosecutors to proceed in the case.
“The people have not gotten certain discovery they are going to provide to me,” White said.
Garain is charged with two counts each of assault with a dangerous weapon — a felony — and assault and battery, a misdemeanor. He will return to court for a pretrial hearing at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 12.
White said in court the discovery — or evidence — he will receive from the prosecution could help the two sides of the case come to a resolution.
According to police, Garain attacked two different people with a crutch during the Oct. 12 brawl between the two football teams. The melee started after a confrontation between the teams’ coaches escalated into physical violence.
Two other juveniles have been charged in the case. AnnArbor.com is not releasing their names because they are juveniles.
Garain was formally arraigned on charges in November and is out of jail on a personal recognizance bond. White previously has told AnnArbor.com Garain maintains his innocence.
Video from the brawl shows a man police say is Garain - who was injured in the Aug. 24 game against Warren De La Salle and did not play in the game against Huron - swinging his crutch during the fight.
The fight began in earnest when Vince Wortmann, an assistant coach at Pioneer, shoved Huron head coach Cory Gildersleeve. Wortmann believed Gildersleeve was physically threatening Pioneer head coach Paul Test, who alleges Gildersleeve was pushing him.
Wortmann was fired for his actions, but Washtenaw County prosecutors decided not to charge him criminally. Test and Gildersleeve both were tagged with two-game suspensions and eventually resigned.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
YourAngel
Wed, Jan 30, 2013 : 11:31 p.m.
I am so disgusted that none of the ADULTS were charged, only players... players that are influenced by their coaches & their coaches actions!! These men are supposed to be role models for our youth and now 3 teens are looking at criminal charges for following the lead of their coaches! As an athlete you trust your coach, your are taught to respect & listen to them, they become like a second parent! I am so upset that the coaches lost jobs & were suspended but these teens are left facing charges that will impact the rest of their lives, I see no justice in this trial and again am VERY disgusted with this entire trial.
leonard
Wed, Jan 30, 2013 : 3:03 p.m.
There is a culture under Coach test that has always been there. An acceptance of things things that are wrong and when they occur backs are turned to it. which tells the kids "hmmm this must be acceptable".
genetracy
Wed, Jan 30, 2013 : 4:53 a.m.
This fiasco never would have occurred under Coaches Ritter or Lori.
Angry Moderate
Tue, Jan 29, 2013 : 10:58 p.m.
"Video from the brawl shows a man police say is Garain" LOL, what's his defense--it was my evil twin?
Kyle Austin
Wed, Jan 30, 2013 : 5:01 p.m.
Unlike most players in the brawl, Garain is not wearing a uniform, and he's wearing a hooded sweatshirt that partially obscures his face. But his defense has not seemed to dispute the fact that he's the one with the crutches in the video.
genetracy
Wed, Jan 30, 2013 : 4:54 a.m.
Well AM, the online petition supporting the accused say it is all because of the "R" word.
stevek
Wed, Jan 30, 2013 : midnight
Angry moderate--Haven't you learned? If you deny it long enough, it becomes the truth.
Goober
Tue, Jan 29, 2013 : 10:46 p.m.
Book em, Danno!
Arboriginal
Tue, Jan 29, 2013 : 10:11 p.m.
There was one?
jpud
Tue, Jan 29, 2013 : 9:57 p.m.
One can only wonder how Bashir's life would have been different had he had different high school football coaches or lived in a school district which instilled a different set of core values in the high school football programs. Why did we as a community tolerate such poor sportsmanship week in and week out from the Pioneer football program? Why did it take a brawl erupting to draw attention to this issue? Did the adults hired by the school district to run and coach the high school sports programs let young men like Bashir down? Bashir's indictment is not an indictment of an individual alone, but rather an indictment of the system that spawned such alleged behavior.
leonard
Wed, Jan 30, 2013 : 3 p.m.
I agree one hundred percent.
EyeHeartA2
Wed, Jan 30, 2013 : 1:44 a.m.
I guess that is the ironic bit isn't it? Sports are supposed to keep you out of trouble.