Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 13, 1993 TAG: 9307130137
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Short
Iverson, who was 17 at the time of the incident, faces up to 20 years in prison on each of three counts of maiming by mob. Sentencing was set for mid-August, said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Colleen Killilea.
In a trial that began Friday before Circuit Judge Nelson Overton, witnesses said Iverson was in the middle of a chair-throwing fight that injured three people. The witnesses said Iverson started the fight for no apparent reason.
Iverson testified that he was struck first by a man who called him a racist name and that the man left the scene, avoiding the fracas that followed. He said he didn't hit anyone.
Herbert V. Kelly Sr., Iverson's attorney, argued that the case should have been dismissed because no one assembled with the intent to assault anyone. Iverson and his friends went to the center to bowl, Kelly said.
Iverson, who will be a senior in the fall, played quarterback and defensive back last season for Bethel High School's football team and was the starting point guard in basketball. Both teams won Group AAA state titles.
Recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons has rated Iverson the top high school basketball prospect in the country.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.