The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Schroder could face felony battery charge
Hawks guard Dennis Schroder’s misdemeanor case has been transferred to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s office with the recommendation that it be prosecuted as felony aggravated battery, according to court records.
The case was transferred to the DA’s office on March 6. Yvette Jones, director of com- munications for the DeKalb DA, said Tuesday that the case remains under investigation and that no charging decisions have been made.
Brookhaven Police arrested Schroder, 24, and three other men on misdemeanor battery charges on Sept. 29. Police said that a video recording of the incident showed Schroder “initiate contact” with the victim and that all four arrested individuals later struck the victim with their hands and feet. Police said they had responded to a call about a fight in a shopping center parking lot on Buford Highway.
Schroder’s sched u led arraignment on Jan. 4 for the misdemeanor charge was postponed because of a scheduling error, according to court records. In a Feb. 26 letter to DeKalb District Attorney Sherry Boston, DeKalb Assistant Solicitor-General Tommy McNulty wrote that all four defendants should be prosecuted for aggravated battery because they “maliciously” caused bodily harm that resulted in “serious damage to the victim’s knee and leg.”
“The victim’s medical records . . . indicate that
the victim suffered a torn meniscus and a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL),” McNulty wrote to Boston. “These injuries require multiple surgeries and exten- sive rehabilitation. As such, this case should be handled by the District Attorney’ s Office.”
According to Georgia law, a person convicted of aggravated battery faces a max- imum prison sentence of 20 years.
The Hawks said they had no comment on Schroder’s case being recommended for felony charges. Per the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, players who are convicted of a violent felony face a league suspension of at least 10 games.
In October, the Hawks announced that Schroder
would be disciplined by the team once his court case is resolved. The team said its preliminary investigation determined that Schroder was involved in a “physical altercation” prior to his arrest.
“That behavior is unacceptable, will not be tolerated by the Hawks organi- zation, and will result in discipline for Dennis at the appropriate time once the matter has been more fully developed through the law enforcement process and otherwise,” Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk said in the statement released in October. “Dennis has accepted responsibility for his actions. He looks forward to learning from this incident and focusing on the season.”
Schroder has not publicly commented on the details of the incident that led to his arrest. During an inter- view in the days following his arrest, Schroder said: “I think we are all human beings. Everybody makes mistakes.”