Alfonzo Dennard Trial

[MoLewisrocks]

This may take a while. They've been working on jury selection all day...

Chris Price tweeted a link to this Lincoln, NE reporter following the case.

https://twitter.com/LJSpilger

 

[supafly]

In the end, it's just speculation, but it's somewhat informed speculation. You're welcome to ignore it at your pleasure, and I'll certainly not be offended. I initially was just offering something from memory that I admitted might have been incorrect, after all.

In the middle of February in a slow offseason, I am genuinely honored to take part of any speculation whatsoever with you It certainly helps to pass the time until we can see meaningful snaps again.

 

[supafly]

This may take a while. They've been working on jury selection all day...

Chris Price tweeted a link to this Lincoln, NE reporter following the case.

https://twitter.com/LJSpilger

Thanks for the link. It'll be interesting to follow her throughout the week.

I believe another report claimed that it may take the majority of the entire week, but at least we should know something by the end of the week at the latest.

 

[BadMoFo]

Lincoln, Nebraska, Police Officer Benjamin Kopsa testified that in April of last year he was in the process of arresting Dennard for getting into a fight with another man when Dennard began to get physical. At first, when Kopsa tried to handcuff Dennard, Dennard used one hand to push him away. Then, when Kopsa continued trying, Dennard used both hands to push him away. Finally, as Kopsa continued to handcuff Dennard, Dennard punched him in the jaw.

“I realized I had my hands full — and there was nobody else with me,” Kopsa said, via the Omaha World Herald.

“Did it hurt?” asked prosecutor Matt Acton.

“Yes,” Kopsa said. “On a scale of one to 10, it felt like an eight.”

Kopsa added that the punch felt “like a very hard object hitting me in the jaw.”

If Dennard is convicted of third-degree assault on an officer he could be sentenced to up to five years in prison. He is also facing misdemeanor counts of assault and resisting arrest, which each come with a sentence of up to one year in prison.

 

[JMC00]

"Mr. Dennard was given an opportunity to just go home; however, instead of just going home, instead of just walking away from trouble, Mr. Dennard initiated it," Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Chris Turner said.

He said Lincoln police told Dennard to go home twice that night after they recognized him as a Nebraska football player and saw him get into an argument with one man, then another.

Turner said Officer Ben Kopsa kept an eye on Dennard as he crossed 14th Street east, dropped his shoulder and pushed through a man headed the other direction.

Before Ben Samani could react, he was punched in the face.

Samani, a college student, can't say it was Dennard who hit him. But Kopsa says it was, and that seeing it prompted him to arrest Dennard.

Attorneys lay out case against former Husker Dennard : News-crime


So the cop basically waited for Dennard to do something and the reason why he did go after him is he saw him from 70 feet away hit someone that can't honestly say if it was Dennard who hit him.

That 70 feet part was in this NESN report Alfonzo Dennard, Lincoln Police Have Conflicting Reports in Patriots Cornerback’s Assault Trial | New England Patriots | NESN.com

 

[Uncle Rico]

"Mr. Dennard was given an opportunity to just go home; however, instead of just going home, instead of just walking away from trouble, Mr. Dennard initiated it," Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Chris Turner said....

Sounds like they're not too interested in letting him off easily.

 

[JackBauer]

So the cop basically waited for Dennard to do something and the reason why he did go after him is he saw him from 70 feet away hit someone that can't honestly say if it was Dennard who hit him.

Sounds like every cop in every college town, ever.

 

[Efstratios]

I hope that Dennard has a good lawyer representing him today. Someone like this man.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Just checked twitter for updates; if nothing else good comes out of this, at least we have one mystery solved:

Vanessa Brown ‏@VanessaBrownTV
Just in case you were wondering, Alfonzo Dennard told a judge his name is pronounced "Den-Nard".. not "Den-nerd" like we all thought. #NFL

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Just checked twitter for updates; if nothing else good comes out of this, at least we have one mystery solved:

Vanessa Brown ‏@VanessaBrownTV
Just in case you were wondering, Alfonzo Dennard told a judge his name is pronounced "Den-Nard".. not "Den-nerd" like we all thought. #NFL

Ronnie Lippett to the white courtesy phone...

Regards,
Chris

 

[Spergon Wynn]

Just checked twitter for updates; if nothing else good comes out of this, at least we have one mystery solved:

Vanessa Brown ‏@VanessaBrownTV
Just in case you were wondering, Alfonzo Dennard told a judge his name is pronounced "Den-Nard".. not "Den-nerd" like we all thought. #NFL

I had always been calling him Den-Nard until announcers used the other pronunciation so I assumed I was wrong. I should've known better.

 

[supafly]

I had always been calling him Den-Nard until announcers used the other pronunciation so I assumed I was wrong. I should've known better.

Same here.

I swear I don't even know how the debate got started, because every time I watched him in college I swear it was Den-Nard too.

The new pronunciation of Den-nerd never sounded right to me. I think it may have been one of the TV announcers who started the whole thing, but I could be wrong.

 

[Big-T]

Jim Nantz calling him Din-nerd all season was annoying after the 2nd time he said it.

 

[SONS_OF_BELICHICK]

I dont know about you ....but if I turned my head .....it wouldnt be focused 70 feet away....and it also takes time for your eyes to refocus....but i would also think 70 feet is pretty damn far. BTW what would you do if someone came from behind you and grabbed you...and didnt identify himself?? you would be kicking and struggling to get out and your arms flailing around ...... it sure sounds like this guy is trying to save face....

 

[jah]

I could have sworn he said Den-nerd himself on a SNF intro...is he just messing with us?

 

[Uncle Rico]

I could have sworn he said Den-nerd himself on a SNF intro...is he just messing with us?

Building a case for mistaken identity?

 

[Big-T]

I dont know about you ....but if I turned my head .....it wouldnt be focused 70 feet away....and it also takes time for your eyes to refocus....but i would also think 70 feet is pretty damn far. BTW what would you do if someone came from behind you and grabbed you...and didnt identify himself?? you would be kicking and struggling to get out and your arms flailing around ...... it sure sounds like this guy is trying to save face....

That's what I was thinking too.

If some random guy comes up behind you, grabs you then when pushed away comes back and tries handcuffing you he's asking to get socked on the chin if he's not identified himself, could have been any old weirdo!

 

[PatsFanLisa]

I'm glad Dennard didn't plead out because if he did, he would have gotten some sort of sentence, whether suspended or not, probation or not. Had that happened, he surely would have gotten a league suspension by the Commissioner for up to a year. This way, he has a chance if found not guilty to have no disruption in his career.

My take on the entire situation is that this cop has now realized that Alfonzo Dennard is an NFL superstar-in-the-making for the New England Patriots. He's found his meal ticket and is building his case for a civil suit, so he's building it up. After all, he now claims that the pain from the punch was an 8 out of 10. Seriously? I had an 800-lb Harley-Davidson fall on my leg and break my ankle in three places and I wouldn't put the pain at an 8, and THAT was painful.

Too bad he doesn't realize that he was a 7th-round pick that's making rookie minimum and when he sues Fonzie for $10 mil, he'll be settling for about $10 grand, if that.

 

[supafly]

Had that happened, he surely would have gotten a league suspension by the Commissioner for up to a year. This way, he has a chance if found not guilty to have no disruption in his career.

There is a lot of debate Lisa, as to whether or not he would even be eligible for any kind of punishment from Goodell on any level.

After all, he was not even a member of the NFL at that point, as the draft was still more than a week away. In my opinion it'd be kind of hard to punish someone under the rules of the CBA if that crime had not happened while the person was employed by an NFL team.

I think even if Goodell is able to punish him, a first time offense suspension would not be more than one or two games. We see a ton of players every year who engage in domestic disputes and other kinds of bar fights etc, and they aren't punished on any level.

I think the term "up to a year" is quite a stretch to be honest, but that's only my personal opinion.

 

[supafly]

I'm glad Dennard didn't plead out because if he did, he would have gotten some sort of sentence, whether suspended or not, probation or not.

The other side of the coin of course, is that he is gambling with a much harsher sentence as far as the law in concerned.

Taking cases to trial is always going to be a bigger gamble as the punishment from the state is going to be much more severe, although in the case of a first time offender I still think that he's not looking at anything that would jeopardize his upcoming season.

I would have been much happier with a plea out to a lesser charge, which likely would have been a slap on the wrist from the state coupled with a slap on the wrist from Goodell (if he ends up having that power).