A felony domestic violence case against former Texas basketball coach Chris Beard will be dropped.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza moved to drop the charge of assault by strangulation/suffocations-family violence on Wednesday after reviewing evidence and considering the wishes of Beard’s fiancée Randi Trew to not prosecute after she alleged Beard “choked me, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around and going nuts” during a Dec. 12 incident at their home.
In an affadavit to police, Beard admitted he choked Trew for five seconds during a fight over broken glasses.
Trew later said Beard, 49, did not hit her and instead defended himself from her, adding she never wanted him arrested and prosecuted.
“Chris and I are deeply saddened that we have brought negative attention upon our family, friends, and the University of Texas, among others,” Trew said in a Dec. 23 statement. “As Chris’ fiancée and biggest supporter, I apologize for the role I played in this unfortunate event. I realize that my frustration, when breaking his glasses, initiated a physical struggle between Chris and myself. Chris did not strangle me, and I told that to law enforcement that evening.”
“Everyone knows that Coach Beard has maintained his absolute innocence since the moment he was arrested,” said Perry Minton, Beard’s attorney. “Additionally, this district attorney has a well-earned reputation for being very tough regarding domestic violence cases. The fact that Mr. Garza’s review resulted in this determination so quickly says a lot. We are very pleased.”
Texas suspended Beard without pay when he was arrested, then fired him, two years into a seven-year guaranteed contract on Jan. 5 when officials said he was “unfit to serve as head coach at our university.” The school used a provision in the deal allowing them to fire Beard for cause if he was charged with a felony or behaved in a way that reflected poorly on the school.
Rodney Terry was named interim coach of the sixth-ranked Longhorns, who are 20-6 overall and shared the Big 12 lead with Baylor and Kansas at 9-4 entering Wednesday night.