Jurors asked to see a video two times during deliberations before convicting a Newberry High School football coach of three misdemeanors after a day-long trial in Lake Butler Wednesday, Sept. 7.
The six-member panel had already viewed the recording of Geronnie Rollins as Assistant State Attorney Bruce Helling argued the defendant was guilty of trespassing, resisting an officer without violence, and interfering with a school function during an Oct. 29, 2021, football game at Union County High School.
Rollins’ lawyer Dan Sikes also dissected the video for jurors while telling them his client was not guilty of the charges.
‘You’ve got to go’
Helling bolstered his interpretation of the video with the testimony of game referee Shawn Morrison and back judge Michael Christie.
Christie told jurors that during the first half, a man wearing all black, later identified as Rollins, had been berating officials from the Newberry sideline, but they did not know if the man was a coach or a fan.
Morrison testified that with 11 seconds remaining in the third quarter, he threw a flag and got between a Union County player and a Newberry player as they argued.
He added that Rollins then came onto the field, shouting obscenities at him, and Morrison responded by flagging Rollins for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“I told him, ‘You’ve got to go,’” Morrison recalled, ejecting Rollins from the game.
Christie said that after the third quarter play, he saw Morrison’s flag on the ground and approached the back judge to inquire about the penalty. He added that he saw Rollins on the field talking to Morrison but could not hear what he said. However, he could tell Rollins was berating the back judge by his body language.
“He was not the head coach,” Christie said. “He should not have been on the field.”
Christie said that while attempting to find Johnson and officially notify him of the ejection, Rollins ran up to him, shouting profanities, while other coaches tried to restrain him.
The referee used a radio to summon security to the sidelines.
He said he saw deputies approach Rollins. Seconds later, the officers and the defendant went to the ground.
“Something started happening on the Newberry sideline,” Christie recalled.
Newberry fans started pouring onto the field. A deputy on horseback rode into the area.
“Our first goal is the safety of everyone,” Christie told Helling. “Once the mounted patrol came onto the field, and Newberry fans started coming onto the field, I told the Union County coach to get his team off the field.”
The game was finished.
“I put him on the ground because he wasn’t complying’
Helling then called the two Union County deputies who detained Rollins on the sideline: Travis Rimes and Andrew Johnson.
Rimes said that when he first approached the defendant, Rollins shouted, “I’m not (expletive deleted) leaving.”
“I touched him on the arm,” Rimes recalled. “He threw his arms up and said, ‘Don’t F’ing touch me. I grabbed his upper body. I lost my grasp, but I still had his hand.”
Johnson testified that he approached the pair when he saw Rimes and Rollins struggling.
“He was saying I’m not leaving,” Johnson recalled. “Don’t put your (expletive deleted) hands on me.”
Johnson added that he took Rollins down when he reached the two.
“I put him on the ground because he wasn’t complying,” the officer said.
Deputies said Rollins was released to Alachua County law enforcement.
Union Sheriff Capt. Lyn Williams testified that on the Monday following the game, he received the video of the game’s ending and instructed Rimes and Johnson to complete their reports of the incident.
The office later forwarded the report to the State Attorney’s Office, which charged Rollins with the misdemeanors.
Never talked, never walked, never refused to leave
Sikes called two Alachua County deputies to the witness stand, Col. Chad Scott and Sgt. Eric Hester.
Scott testified that he was the officer Union deputies released Rollins to after the game. Scott said he had known the defendant for most of his life and told Union officers he would escort Rollins to his car.
Hester told jurors he was in the visitors’ stands during the game. Hester said he went to school with Rollins and had three boys who played football on the Newberry team. The sergeant told Sikes he never saw Rollins run onto the field nor saw the defendant refuse to leave.
Sikes also called Johnson, Newbery coach Henry Jackson and player parent Tiffany Phillips. The three told jurors they never saw Rollins refuse to leave the field, never saw him run onto the field, and never heard him hurling profanities at officials or deputies.
Rollins also took the stand in his defense. He told jurors he never argued with officials throughout the game, never walked onto the field, and never refused to leave.
During the State’s case, Sikes repeatedly pointed out that when deputies took Rollins down, the defendant was walking toward an exit gate.
He produced photos of the defendant’s feet on the stadium’s track, which was between the playing field and the exit.
Sikes also said the sheriff’s office only pursued charges against the defendant after Rollins and other Newberry fans complained about deputies’ treatment of the coach.
Sikes asked County Judge Mitchell Bishop to toss the trespassing charge and the misdemeanor of interfering with a school function. The lawyer argued that according to a Florida Supreme Court ruling, a trespass could only occur if the school’s principal or her designee first warned the defendant. He added that the principal never designated game officials and deputies to act on her behalf, so the trespassing charge was invalid. Sikes said that in another court case, justices held that for the interference of a school function charge to stick, the State must prove the defendant intended to interfere with the activity. He said that since the State entered no evidence of Rollins’ intent to stop the game, the judge should acquit Rollins on that charge.
Bishop denied both defense motions.
Home-field advantage
After the trial, Sikes said his biggest concern going into the proceedings was the fact that his defendant and witnesses were all from Alachua County. At the same time, the State relied on Union County law enforcement testimony, and jurors were likely to believe their local officials over the out-of-towners.
“We were always concerned about their home-field advantage,” he said.
Helling declined to comment for this story and only said after the trial, “the video speaks for itself.”
