THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 25, 1996 TAG: 9609250574
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 68 lines
Former Old Dominion University basketball star Joe Bunn has been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery following an incident with his ex-girlfriend early Monday morning.
Bunn, ODU's leading scorer and rebounder last season, was dismissed from the team Monday afternoon and withdrew from school Tuesday.
Charges were brought against Bunn by Holly Rivers, a member of ODU's women's tennis team. After Rivers filed charges early Monday morning, Bunn swore out a warrant for assault and battery against Rivers.
ODU officials, who asked not to be identified, said Bunn returned to his home in Rocky Mount, N.C., after withdrawing from school.
According to a report written by ODU policeman Brian Schobel, in which all references to Rivers' name were deleted, Rivers said she and Bunn ``became involved in a verbal altercation concerning the recent breakup of their relationship.''
Schobel's report also said Rivers alleged ``the altercation turned physical when Mr. Bunn struck (Rivers) several times in the head, body and facial area with a closed fist.''
The incident took place in Bunn's residence at ODU's Powhatan Apartments in the 4600 block of Powhatan Avenue, officials say. Alcohol was not a factor, the report indicated.
According to the report, Rivers was treated at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital ``for a split lip, contusions to the head and facial area, bruises to the arms and a possible torn ligament in the right thumb.''
Schobel's report also said: ``Further investigation revealed (Rivers) had struck Mr. Bunn once in the face with an open hand.''
The report indicated Rivers obtained a warrant for assault and battery charges against Bunn from a Norfolk magistrate. Charles F. Studds Jr., the city's chief magistrate, and Larry Hill, a spokesman for the Norfolk Police, confirmed that a warrant was sworn out by Rivers against Bunn and served to him by the ODU Police at 4:19 a.m. Monday. Bunn was summoned to appear in Norfolk General District Court on Oct. 17, Hill said.
After being served with the warrant, Bunn drove to the magistrate's office and swore out a warrant for assault and battery against Rivers, according to the report. Sources say the warrant was served to Rivers Monday afternoon.
Misdemeanor assault can result in a jail term of up to one year.
Rivers, a junior from Acton, Mass., declined to be interviewed.
ODU coach Jeff Capel is out of town on a recruiting trip and unavailable for comment. But a source close to Capel said he ``was just crushed'' by the incident. ``Joe is like a son to Jeff, and Jeff is like a father to Joe,'' the source said.
Capel recruited Bunn to North Carolina A&T in 1993. When Capel left the Greensboro school to coach the Monarchs in 1994, Bunn transferred to ODU with him.
Before Monday, Bunn had been considered a public relations model for ODU. Relatively small for a forward (6-foot-6) and unrecruited by other Division I programs, he turned himself into a college star. At North Carolina A&T, he was Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year as a freshman, and was All-Colonial Athletic Association last season when he averaged 16.1 points and 7.6 rebounds.
He is also an above-average student who overcame tragic circumstances - the deaths of his mother and father by the time he was 15 - and was raised by Irene Lynch, his maternal grandmother.
Bunn could not be reached by telephone. Lynch declined comment. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Joe Bunn
KEYWORDS: ASSAULT ARREST by CNB