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Jury hung in trial of Gator

A jury was split 5-1 in favor of Steven Harris being not guilty.

GAINESVILLE - After nearly 10 hours of testimony, the third-degree felony trial of Florida defensive end Steven Harris ended in a mistrial Friday night.

Harris, 19, was accused of hitting, kicking and permanently injuring Brian Assent, a Florida nutritional sciences student, leaving him unconscious in the parking lot of the Palace nightclub in April.

The redshirt freshman faced five years in prison.

"It was 5-1 for not guilty, which is a shame," said Robert Rush, Harris' attorney. "The facts are very ambiguous. He was an 18-year-old first offender, and these things are normally worked out."

Assent, 22, had a cut under his lip he "could stick his tongue through." He required 11 stitches and a wired jaw and lost a tooth. He still needs reconstructive dental work.

After nearly four hours of deliberating, the five-women, one-man jury returned asking what members should do if they were unable to reach a verdict. Circuit Judge Larry Turner sent them back with instructions to try again.

At 11:35, jury members sent Turner a note saying they were "still deadlocked with no hope of change."

A second trial is scheduled for Oct. 13.

The trial included testimony from five teammates: starting freshman linebacker Channing Crowder, backup quarterback Gavin Dickey, receiver Reggie Lewis, cornerback Tremaine McCollom and backup safety Terrence Holmes.

Dickey described the scene outside the club as chaotic:

"It was like a riot scene. There were hundreds of people running around. It was dark. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life."

The testimony painted a scene of drunkenness and rowdy behavior at the club, which 20-40 football players attended.

"At least half the team was there," Holmes testified.

Harris also took the stand, admitting he hit a former track athlete "by mistake" inside the club then apologized. Harris and his teammates testified he never hit, kicked or punched anyone outside the nightclub.

But several prosecution witnesses testified they saw Harris punch and kick Assent. But under cross-examination, their stories were inconsistent. One witness said he could tell it was Harris by his size and clothes.

Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson is urging presidents of the league's 10 schools to take advantage of the uncertainty that exists within Conference USA by recruiting two of its schools for a 12-team league, Houston television station KRIV reported.

The station said it got a copy of a letter Benson sent the presidents in which he said he wants to make a run at two schools from a group of three now in Conference USA: Houston, TCU and Tulane.

HEISMAN WINNER ARRESTED: Billy Sims was arrested on a child support warrant and released. The former Oklahoma running back was stopped by Anadarko, Okla., police for a traffic violation after he left an autograph session Thursday. The 1978 Heisman winner paid $9,073 to satisfy the warrant.

OHIO STATE: A woman accused of repeatedly calling coach Jim Tressel's office claiming to be his wife has been charged. Fotoya Hudson, 32, was arrested Sept. 8 after defying a police order to stop trying to contact the coach, police said. She pleaded innocent to the charges of menacing by stalking, telephone harassment and trespassing on Wednesday and remained jailed Friday on $105,000 bond.

MONTANA STATE: Assistant head coach Joe O'Brien was arrested on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The school suspended him with pay.

TOLEDO 24, MARSHALL 17: Astin Martin's 10-yard touchdown run with 1:10 left lifted the Rockets. Toledo beat the Thundering Herd for the third time in four years and is the only team with more than one victory against Marshall since it joined the MAC in 1997. The Thundering Herd lost for just the second time in 52 home games since Bob Pruett became coach in 1996.

- Information from Times wires was used in the report.