The former Wake Forest basketball coach, whose coup de grace resulted in the death of a Florida tourist in Queens two years ago, avoided prison in his sentence on Thursday.
Jamill Jones, 37, will serve three years of probation, 1,500 hours of community service, and will pay a $ 1,000 fine in the August 2018 death of Sandor Szabo, a Boca Raton resident.
Jones had faced up to a year in prison after being convicted in February of assault in the third degree.
Then, an assistant to Danny Manning on the ACC basketball show, Jones had hit Szabo in the head for getting his car drunk in Long Island City.
Szabo, an online marketing executive who had attended earlier on his stepsister’s wedding day, was searching for his carpool when he knocked on Jones’ window, his family said.
The former college hoop coach chased Szabo and hit him in the face once.
Szabo, 35, fell and hit his head on the pavement, causing a skull fracture and other traumatic brain injuries. He died in the hospital three days later.
“This was a tragic incident that ended the life of a man and devastated his family, a violent encounter that should never have happened,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
“Violence is never the answer to resolve a dispute.”
Jones attended the sentencing hearing before Queens Criminal Court Judge Joanne Watters via the Skype video link, surrounded by family members. She apologized to Szabo’s family.
“We are very sorry for the Szabo family and we are happy with the judge’s sentence,” said one of his defense attorneys, Eric Renfroe. “[Jones is] a good person and we are sure that he will continue to do good in his life. “
The victim’s mother, Donna Kent, and other family members also attended the hearing by video.
She tore apart the prosecutors’ decision to charge only Jones with third-degree assault, and the resulting sentence, as “inappropriate and unfair for the crime of killing an individual.”
“Judge Watters had the opportunity to send a powerful message to society, but instead delivered a weak will message that repentance is only enough to avoid justice,” Kent said in a statement.
She said the family is exploring options in civil courts “to correct this error.”
“[We] He believes he will do what the criminal court was too afraid to do: punish Jamill C. Jones for taking the life of our beloved Sandor. “
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