Boy testifies T-ball coach offered him $25 to 'bean' player
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
UNIONTOWN -- In the summer of 2005, it was the Falcons versus the Pirates in the T-ball playoffs of the R.W. Clark Youth Baseball League, and 8-year-old Keith Reese was the key Falcons player.
V.W.H. Campbell Jr., Post-Gazette
Mark Downs Jr. at a hearing last year.
Click photo for larger image.
Yesterday, it was the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Mark R. Downs Jr. in a Fayette County Common Pleas courtroom and, once again, Keith Reese was the key player.
Keith, who is now 9, testified that Mr. Downs, the coach of his T-ball team on June 27, 2005, offered him $25 if he would throw a baseball at an autistic teammate, injuring him so he would be unable to take part in the playoff game.
League rules require each player to play at least three innings.
Mr. Downs, 29, of Dunbar, is charged with two counts of criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, corruption of minors, conspiracy to commit simple assault and reckless endangerment. He and his defense attorney, Thomas Shaffer, rejected a December plea agreement offered by Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon.
The case has attracted intense news media coverage and sparked concern over what youngsters are learning from adults on their playing fields.
"This is baseball," Mrs. Vernon told the jury of eight women and two men during her opening statement. "This is small-town USA. This is Americana. These children are supposed to be learning the importance of teamwork and good-sportsmanlike conduct from their coaches."
Mrs. Vernon and Mr. Shaffer took turns questioning Keith and the other boy, Harry Bowers Jr., 11, who was struck by two throws -- one hit him in the groin and the other in the ear -- and did not play in the Falcons' playoff game. Both boys testified after assuring Judge Ralph C. Warman that they knew the difference between the truth and lies and promising that they would tell the truth.
Keith recounted how Mr. Downs, shortly before the start of their playoff game, took him aside in a nearby parking lot and spoke to him in "a kind of whisper."
"He told me if I would hit Harry in the face he would pay me 25 dollars," he said.
Keith said that during pregame warmups, he threw a baseball that bounced and hit Harry in the groin, causing the boy to go crying to his mother in the bleachers.
His mother, Jennifer Bowers of Uniontown, testified yesterday that she did not see the incident and encouraged her son to go back onto the field to play in the game.
Keith said that when Mr. Downs saw this, he approached him again.
"He said his mom is going to put him back in the game. Try hitting him harder in the face," the boy testified. "So I went back out there, I threw the ball, and I hit him straight in the ear."
Asked by Mrs. Vernon how it made him feel to hit his friend and see him crying, Keith said, "Sad."
Mrs. Vernon then asked him why he did it.
"Because my coach told me to," he said.
Mrs. Bowers testified that after her son was struck the second time, Mr. Downs went up to her and said he didn't think Harry, who has a mild form of mental retardation, should play in the game.
"He said he should take the night off because the ball seemed to be after him," she said.
Keith, a stocky youngster who was one of the hardest throwers and best players on the team, said he did not tell anyone about his coach's offer until after the game, when he mentioned it to his stepmother. Then later, when the team went to a local ice cream stand for a postgame treat, he confronted Mr. Downs.
"I said, 'I hit Harry in the face. Where's my 25 dollars?' " he testified.
He said Mr. Downs told him he would give him the money during the fall baseball league, but that league was never organized.
Mr. Shaffer, during his opening statement, said the case will come down to two issues: "credibility and reasonable doubt."
Throughout his questioning of the boys and Mrs. Bowers, Mr. Shaffer called attention to inconsistent statements and the boys' difficulty in remembering details. Harry, for example, could not recall whether he went to his coach after being hit or what his mother did. He also could not remember where on the field the incident occurred, how far apart the boys were standing or whether he joined his teammates for ice cream.
Neither boy could remember who won the baseball game.
Mr. Shaffer said it was all "a misunderstanding" and that the fault lies with Keith.
"He felt everyone was pointing a finger at him, and in order to get the blame off of his shoulders, he's shifted that blame and used Mr. Downs as an excuse," said Mr. Shaffer, who told jurors his client will waive his right to not testify and will take the stand later in the trial.
Speaking outside the courtroom, Mr. Shaffer also questioned whether Mr. Downs could get a fair trial in the community, considering the furor the case has caused. Thirteen prospective jurors were dismissed yesterday morning for having formed opinions.
Mrs. Vernon acknowledged that having children testify can be difficult because they don't always remember things.
"But these kids have been consistent since day one," she said. "They've never deviated from the factual scenario.
"It all boils down to he hit him. And he hit him intentionally. Twice."
The trial resumes this morning.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
UNIONTOWN -- In the summer of 2005, it was the Falcons versus the Pirates in the T-ball playoffs of the R.W. Clark Youth Baseball League, and 8-year-old Keith Reese was the key Falcons player.
V.W.H. Campbell Jr., Post-Gazette
Mark Downs Jr. at a hearing last year.
Click photo for larger image.
Yesterday, it was the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Mark R. Downs Jr. in a Fayette County Common Pleas courtroom and, once again, Keith Reese was the key player.
Keith, who is now 9, testified that Mr. Downs, the coach of his T-ball team on June 27, 2005, offered him $25 if he would throw a baseball at an autistic teammate, injuring him so he would be unable to take part in the playoff game.
League rules require each player to play at least three innings.
Mr. Downs, 29, of Dunbar, is charged with two counts of criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, corruption of minors, conspiracy to commit simple assault and reckless endangerment. He and his defense attorney, Thomas Shaffer, rejected a December plea agreement offered by Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon.
The case has attracted intense news media coverage and sparked concern over what youngsters are learning from adults on their playing fields.
"This is baseball," Mrs. Vernon told the jury of eight women and two men during her opening statement. "This is small-town USA. This is Americana. These children are supposed to be learning the importance of teamwork and good-sportsmanlike conduct from their coaches."
Mrs. Vernon and Mr. Shaffer took turns questioning Keith and the other boy, Harry Bowers Jr., 11, who was struck by two throws -- one hit him in the groin and the other in the ear -- and did not play in the Falcons' playoff game. Both boys testified after assuring Judge Ralph C. Warman that they knew the difference between the truth and lies and promising that they would tell the truth.
Keith recounted how Mr. Downs, shortly before the start of their playoff game, took him aside in a nearby parking lot and spoke to him in "a kind of whisper."
"He told me if I would hit Harry in the face he would pay me 25 dollars," he said.
Keith said that during pregame warmups, he threw a baseball that bounced and hit Harry in the groin, causing the boy to go crying to his mother in the bleachers.
His mother, Jennifer Bowers of Uniontown, testified yesterday that she did not see the incident and encouraged her son to go back onto the field to play in the game.
Keith said that when Mr. Downs saw this, he approached him again.
"He said his mom is going to put him back in the game. Try hitting him harder in the face," the boy testified. "So I went back out there, I threw the ball, and I hit him straight in the ear."
Asked by Mrs. Vernon how it made him feel to hit his friend and see him crying, Keith said, "Sad."
Mrs. Vernon then asked him why he did it.
"Because my coach told me to," he said.
Mrs. Bowers testified that after her son was struck the second time, Mr. Downs went up to her and said he didn't think Harry, who has a mild form of mental retardation, should play in the game.
"He said he should take the night off because the ball seemed to be after him," she said.
Keith, a stocky youngster who was one of the hardest throwers and best players on the team, said he did not tell anyone about his coach's offer until after the game, when he mentioned it to his stepmother. Then later, when the team went to a local ice cream stand for a postgame treat, he confronted Mr. Downs.
"I said, 'I hit Harry in the face. Where's my 25 dollars?' " he testified.
He said Mr. Downs told him he would give him the money during the fall baseball league, but that league was never organized.
Mr. Shaffer, during his opening statement, said the case will come down to two issues: "credibility and reasonable doubt."
Throughout his questioning of the boys and Mrs. Bowers, Mr. Shaffer called attention to inconsistent statements and the boys' difficulty in remembering details. Harry, for example, could not recall whether he went to his coach after being hit or what his mother did. He also could not remember where on the field the incident occurred, how far apart the boys were standing or whether he joined his teammates for ice cream.
Neither boy could remember who won the baseball game.
Mr. Shaffer said it was all "a misunderstanding" and that the fault lies with Keith.
"He felt everyone was pointing a finger at him, and in order to get the blame off of his shoulders, he's shifted that blame and used Mr. Downs as an excuse," said Mr. Shaffer, who told jurors his client will waive his right to not testify and will take the stand later in the trial.
Speaking outside the courtroom, Mr. Shaffer also questioned whether Mr. Downs could get a fair trial in the community, considering the furor the case has caused. Thirteen prospective jurors were dismissed yesterday morning for having formed opinions.
Mrs. Vernon acknowledged that having children testify can be difficult because they don't always remember things.
"But these kids have been consistent since day one," she said. "They've never deviated from the factual scenario.
"It all boils down to he hit him. And he hit him intentionally. Twice."
The trial resumes this morning.
