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It took a hell of a long time, but 2006 finally has its first college-jock-randomly-shoots-pedestrian-with-BB-gun offense. Not many Americans have heard of the name David Lighty, but it’s only a matter of time. Next year, Lighty is sure to be a household name, or close to it. A Cleveland-prep basketball star guard who averaged 21 points and ten rebounds for Villa St. Joseph last year, he’s part of what was expected to be one of the most celebrated basketball recruiting classes ever — next year’s Ohio State University squad.
Lighty and fellow St. Joe’s teammates Darryl Rushton and Jimmy McLeod were busted last week after a 55-year-old man named James Nugent felt a sting in his back while jogging on the school track. He turned around to see the three kids giggling and saying, “Ha, ha, I got him.”
RALPHIE WOULD BE PROUD: We finally have our first assault-with-a-BB-gun arrest, as Ohio State–bound David Lighty was picked up for allegedly tagging a jogger. |
The three teens were tossed in the shame-wagon and charged with suspicion of assault, criminal trespassing, and criminal activity on school property. Ohio State offered no comment except to say it is “gathering information,” it is “too early to judge the facts,” and, “after all, we still need backcourt help.” Well, no, actually I made up that last part.BB-gun shootings by athletes take place about once a year and are generally a collegiate offense directly connected to massive alcohol consumption. Pro athletes, however, have also been known to dabble. The most heralded BB-gun offender in this country is probably former Tampa Bay defensive back Dwight Smith, he of two Super Bowl interceptions for touchdowns. Some years back, Smith allegedly pulled a BB gun on a motorist in the drive-through lane of a McDonald’s. Smith’s BB gun was the firearm version of the Patch; he was using a substitute after having been arrested for pulling a nine-millimeter pistol on a motorist years before.
Other BB offenders include British soccer star Darren Bent of Ipswich Town, who shot a 12-year-old boy in the back of the head in a drive-by incident a few years ago, and notorious hockey goon/rapist Billy Tibbetts — the Lawrence Phillips of hockey — who capped a long criminal career by violating his parole and doing two-and-a-half years for a BB-gun shooting. More recently, Oklahoma State offensive lineman Adam Gourley pulled a BB version of Charles Whitman and pegged a fellow student from a dorm balcony, leaving a projectile lodged in his victim’s head. The school conceded it was a “poor decision” on Gourley’s part.
And you thought Seanez and Tavarez sucked
From the where-are-they-now file comes a shout-out from old friend Scott Sauerbeck, former Red Sox player and self-described “curveball-flippin’ freak” who was hounded out of the Cleveland Indian bullpen last week in the silliest DUI incident since Jeff Garcia visited your local Jack in the Box.
