Author Topic: Jabari Bird “admits to sufficienct facts” in DV Assault case  (Read 1066 times)

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Online Roy H.

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For the MA criminal attorneys, is this essentially the same as a no contest plea?  Or more like a “filing” / continuance without a finding?

Quote
BROOKLINE — Former Boston Celtics guard Jabari Bird on Monday admitted to sufficient facts alleged by prosecutors in a vicious September assault on his former girlfriend, authorities said.

Bird, 24, made the admission during a hearing in a session of Brighton District Court that had been relocated for the day to Brookline. Admitting to sufficient facts is not the same as pleading guilty, but it does expose a defendant to criminal penalties.

Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins’s office said in a statement that Bird “admitted to the facts alleged by Assistant District Attorney Khyati Short ... charging him with strangulation or suffocation, kidnapping, assault and battery on a household member, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, threats to commit a crime, and witness intimidation.”

Judge David T. Donnelly “did not enter a finding as to guilt, requested an aid-in-sentencing report from probation officers, and continued the case to May 28 for disposition,” the statement said.

Bird and the victim each left court without commenting. During the hearing, Short read an impact statement submitted by the victim.

“When you hit me for the first time, I wasn’t as scared as I was embarrassed,”the statement said. “I hid it from everyone I could, and believed your promises that you would stop, and that it would never happen again. But what I was really clinging to was my own idea of who I should be - that I wasn’t a girl who could be in this position. Then it happened again, and again, and again, same story, every time.”

In the statement, the woman said the violent episode on Sept. 7, 2018, began when she accused Bird of cheating.

“It was like a switch was flipped the second I showed you the text I found,” she said. “You grabbed me by the waist and threw me down.”

She said Bird choked her and squeezed her face so hard that her contacts popped out, and that she feared for her life. The attack left her with bruises, a concussion, welts on her head, and chunks of hair falling out, she said. The woman, a student athlete at an area college, said she was never the same after the incident: her grades dropped, she was fearful, and she couldn’t sleep.

“All I want is to move on, but I can’t do that until there is accountability,” she said. “Our whole relationship you made me feel guilty. You made me feel responsible for you...... You are the one who should be feeling guilty. You should have shame.”

The statement continued, “The physical and psychological pain you have caused me will haunt me forever. ... I will never be the same as I was before all this happened. I will never feel entirely safe again.”

The woman added that she will “probably always have anxiety from this, but the first step of moving on, is knowing that you are held responsible.”

The incident occurred inside Bird’s Brighton residence, authorities have said. Court records show the woman told police that she and Bird, who battles “anxiety issues,” began arguing in his apartment around 1 p.m. over trust issues Bird was having with her.

She said Bird launched into a long, violent attack, choking her approximately 12 times and releasing her neck whenever she began to go limp, allowing her to catch her breath before resuming the assault.

Eventually, the woman told police, she passed out and woke up under Bird’s bed, and he began kicking her when she poked her head out. At one point he dragged her away from the door to prevent her from leaving, according to court records.

The encounter took a turn when Bird started displaying “seizure like” symptoms and fell, according to legal filings. His girlfriend “picked him off the ground” and put Bird on a bed, where he fell asleep, the report said. She then left the apartment.

Bird was initially charged in September with assault and battery on a household or family member, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, and strangulation or suffocation.

Then in January, he was charged with two additional counts of witness intimidation and threatening to commit a crime stemming from the same incident.

The January counts were based on an interview the woman had with authorities on Sept. 13. According to a police report filed in court, the woman quoted Bird as telling her “if you don’t stop talking I’m going to kill you.“ And while kicking her during the attack he also allegedly said, “tell anyone about this, I don’t care where you are I’ll find you and I’ll kill you.”

Bird is currently living with his mother in California, his lawyers said.

The Celtics traded Bird to the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 7 in a move that helped both teams financially. The Hawks released Bird soon after acquiring him, and he hasn’t signed with any other team since being waived.



I'M THE SILVERBACK GORILLA IN THIS MOTHER——— AND DON'T NONE OF YA'LL EVER FORGET IT!@ 34 minutes

Re: Jabari Bird “admits to sufficienct facts” in DV Assault case
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2019, 04:48:25 PM »

Offline CelticsElite

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He was looking like a draft steal too. What a shame.

Re: Jabari Bird “admits to sufficienct facts” in DV Assault case
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2019, 05:42:46 PM »

Offline GreenEnvy

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Terrible story. He clearly has mental issues beyond just anger and violence. Hope he gets the help he needs but obviously has to be held accountable for what he did.

Still find it weird after all he did to her that afternoon that she placed him on the bed before escaping. Would seem rather difficult (even for an athlete) for a female to lift a 6’6” 200lb limp body, especially after all the trauma/abuse she went through.

Not attempting to discredit her, but that part seems a little iffy.
CELTICS 2024

Re: Jabari Bird “admits to sufficienct facts” in DV Assault case
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2019, 07:56:37 PM »

Offline csfansince60s

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He was looking like a draft steal too. What a shame.

Agree.

Had a great connection with Jaylen too.

It is a shame for many: for the Cs, Bird and his family BUT especially the victim.