Oliver Springs Man Charged with Assault for Reportedly Putting Referee in a Headlock During Basketball Game
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Oliver Springs Man Charged with Assault for Reportedly Putting Referee in a Headlock During Basketball Game

An Oliver Springs man is charged after he allegedly put a referee in a headlock during a basketball game.

Officers went to Grace Christian Academy on Saturday after receiving a report that a parent had assaulted a referee.

Officers say the referee told them that 54 year-old Jerry Crass disagreed with a call made during the game, and when Crass was ejected from the basketball court, he “put him in a headlock and took him to the ground.”

Video footage taken from witnesses identified Crass as the suspect who assaulted the referee and pushed a woman believed to be his wife when she tried to intervene.

Crass is charged with assault with threat of bodily injury and is scheduled to be arraigned on April 8th.

Grace Christian Academy spokesperson says a group rented their gym for a tournament and it was not a GCA or Grace Baptist Church affiliated event.

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