The misdemeanor conviction of Dollarway High School baseball coach Greg Cleveland was overturned Thursday in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
Judge Rob Wyatt Jr. reversed the decision of Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney who ruled in October that Cleveland was guilty of third-degree battery stemming from an injury to a former player earlier this year.
“I feel like a 10,000 pound weight has been lifted off my back and shoulders,” Cleveland said after the trial Thursday afternoon.
Cleveland had been accused of deliberately throwing a baseball at Darren Kidd Jr. during a practice game in February, striking Kidd in the eye and causing swelling.
During the trial in district court, Kidd claimed that Cleveland had deliberately thrown a baseball at him after telling him to “sit down and shut up.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
During his testimony, Cleveland said he had been watching his team in the field, and when the third out of the inning had been recorded, he “flipped a baseball” into the dugout before going out on the field.
“I didn’t know anybody was behind me,” Cleveland said.
Kidd, who was a senior, did not return to the team after the injury.
Kearney fined Cleveland $760, with $300 of that suspended and giving Cleveland until Nov. 3 to pay the money or file a notice of appeal.
Pine Bluff attorney Wilson Bynum represented Cleveland and Assistant City Attorney Darryl Taylor represented the city in both district court and the appeal.