This Feb. 28, 2012 file photo shows Benjamin Gerard Hawkins during a preliminary hearing in District Court in Las Vegas. Hawkins is due for sentencing Thursday Feb. 14,2013 in Las Vegas following his November conviction in the death of 46-year-old John Massie. The former high school football coach and teacher from Gainesville, Fla., could face prison time for involuntary manslaughter in the one-punch death of a Utah man at a Las Vegas casino.
AP
Published: Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 11:48 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 11:48 a.m.
LAS VEGAS ? A former high school football coach and teacher from Florida could be sent to Nevada state prison Thursday after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the one-punch death of a Utah man at a Las Vegas casino.
Defense attorney Jack Buchanan said he will seek probation for his client, Benjamin Gerard Hawkins, 39, of Gainesville, who has remained free following his November conviction in the death of John Massie, 46, an occupational safety and health worker at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
Hawkins didn't mean to kill Massie, and the felony conviction ruined his coaching and teaching career at Bradford County High School in Starke, Fla., Buchanan said.
Prosecutor Maria Lavell said she will seek a sentence of one to four years in prison.
Evidence at trial showed both men had been drinking before the confrontation. Hawkins is black, and Massie was white.
Hawkins testified that Massie started an encounter in a restroom with an unsolicited comment about "black guys and these yellow shirts."
Massie derided him with racial comments and tapped him on the shoulder and chest in the restroom at O'Shea's Casino in July 2011, then approached him again after they walked separately to the gaming floor, Hawkins told jurors.
Hawkins said he thought Massie was threatening him.
As they emerged from the men's room, security video showed the two men a few feet apart before Hawkins began to walk away. Massie's hands were in his pockets as Hawkins then turned suddenly and threw the punch.
A medical examiner testified that Massie died after his head hit the floor.
Hawkins remained in the footage after the punch, apparently talking to his wife and friends before security, paramedics and police arrived.
Police said Hawkins had not been specific about racial taunts or what made him feel threatened. The lead investigator testified that he thought the case could fall anywhere between self-defense and murder.
Several Massie family members are expected to speak during sentencing before Clark County District Court Judge Valerie Adair.
Source: http://www.ocala.com/article/20130214/wire/130219832
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