THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 6, 1995 TAG: 9504060342
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CAMDEN LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
The chairman of Camden County's Board of Education has been ordered to pay the medical bills of a Northampton County teenager he has been charged with assaulting during an altercation at a high school basketball game, says an assistant district attorney.
David E. Meiggs, of the 200 block of Belcross Road in Camden, pleaded not guilty in Northampton County District Court on Monday to misdemeanor charges that he shook and threatened the 15-year-old Northampton County High School East sophomore Feb. 21.
Meiggs has not been found innocent or guilty; his judgment was continued to June 22, officials in the Northampton clerk of court's office said.
But Meiggs was told to pay the hospital expenses for the boy, said Assistant District Attorney Tonya Lacewell.
The boy's shoulder had been scraped during the scuffle, said his mother, Sharon Colson of Woodland in Northampton County.
Colson said Meiggs also was ordered to stay away from the boy and barred from attending athletic events in Northampton County for a fixed amount of time. Lacewell said she did not know the details of the agreement.
District Judge W. Rob Lewis, who presided over the case, could not be reached. Neither Meiggs nor his lawyer returned phone calls.
Colson, who filed the complaint on her son's behalf, said Meiggs grabbed her son and shook him during an argument between fans of Camden and Northampton's basketball teams.
Words had been exchanged between the two groups during the girls' game, and the argument continued when the game ended, Colson said. She said she was called names by a member of a group of departing Camden fans. Her son shouted back.
The boy, a manager for the boys' varsity team, left the fray and began setting up video equipment for the varsity game, his mother said. When he returned to the other side of the gym, Colson said, he was grabbed and shaken by Meiggs, whose wife had been with the Camden fans.
Colson said she pushed Meiggs' hands off her son and then threatened Meiggs. She said her son was sore where he had been grabbed and that nail marks had drawn blood, prompting a magistrate to advise her to take him to a hospital.
``It was just a childish argument that escalated and turned violent,'' Colson said. ``I really believe he didn't mean to hurt my son, but that still doesn't excuse him for assaulting him.''
Prosecutors said the delay in the case, called a ``prayer for judgment,'' is often issued for defendants who do not have criminal records. The action gives them a chance to pay restitution or take other steps in exchange for the possible dismissal of charges.
Colson said Meiggs gave her a check for $115 for the expenses before leaving court Monday.
The chairman of Camden County's Board of Education has been ordered to pay the medical bills of a Northampton County teenager he has been charged with assaulting during an altercation at a high school basketball game, says an assistant district attorney.
David E. Meiggs, of the 200 block of Belcross Road in Camden, pleaded not guilty in Northampton County District Court on Monday to misdemeanor charges that he shook and threatened the 15-year-old Northampton County High School East sophomore Feb. 21.
Meiggs has not been found innocent or guilty; his judgment was continued to June 22, officials in the Northampton clerk of court's office said.
But Meiggs was told to pay the hospital expenses for the boy, said Assistant District Attorney Tonya Lacewell.
The boy's shoulder had been scraped during the scuffle, said his mother, Sharon Colson of Woodland in Northampton County.
Colson said Meiggs also was ordered to stay away from the boy and barred from attending athletic events in Northampton County for a fixed amount of time. Lacewell said she did not know the details of the agreement.
District Judge W. Rob Lewis, who presided over the case, could not be reached. Neither Meiggs nor his lawyer returned phone calls.
Colson, who filed the complaint on her son's behalf, said Meiggs grabbed her son and shook him during an argument between fans of Camden and Northampton's basketball teams.
Words had been exchanged between the two groups during the girls' game, and the argument continued when the game ended, Colson said. She said she was called names by a member of a group of departing Camden fans. Her son shouted back.
The boy, a manager for the boys' varsity team, left the fray and began setting up video equipment for the varsity game, his mother said. When he returned to the other side of the gym, Colson said, he was grabbed and shaken by Meiggs, whose wife had been with the Camden fans.
Colson said she pushed Meiggs' hands off her son and then threatened Meiggs. She said her son was sore where he had been grabbed and that nail marks had drawn blood, prompting a magistrate to advise her to take him to a hospital.
``It was just a childish argument that escalated and turned violent,'' Colson said. ``I really believe he didn't mean to hurt my son, but that still doesn't excuse him for assaulting him.''
Prosecutors said the delay in the case, called a ``prayer for judgment,'' is often issued for defendants who do not have criminal records. The action gives them a chance to pay restitution or take other steps in exchange for the possible dismissal of charges.
Colson said Meiggs gave her a check for $115 for the expenses before leaving court Monday. by CNB