Serbian hoops player flees U.S. after assaulting a man who is now in Critical Condition.
- added July 10, 2008
- 2 responses
A fight over a woman at a college bar between a Serb-born basketball player and another man who was left in a coma has ignited a diplomatic crisis between Belgrade and Washington.
Serbia agreed to cooperate in the case of Miladin Kovacevic, 20, who fled the United States in early June after he was charged in the May 4 assault of a fellow Binghamton University student at a bar in Binghamton, New York.
The fight started May 4, when Bryan Steinhauer, 22, tried to dance with the girlfriend of one of Kovacevic's friends. Witnesses said Kovacevic, who is 6-foot-9, 280 pounds, kicked the 5-foot-9, 130-pound Steinhauer repeatedly in the head as he lay on the ground. Three men, including Kovacevic, were charged with assault and gang assault and held on $100,000 bail, according to police.
Kovacevic, who had been recruited to play basketball for the university, managed to flee the United States after his mother flew to New York to post bail and a Serbian consular official provided him with a temporary passport.
A Serbian consulate staffer in New York is accused of providing Kovacevic with emergency travel documents that helped him flee the country. The Serbian foreign ministry has recalled two consular officials back to Belgrade for disciplinary action.
"My client has told me he did not flee the country to hide from the justice system," said Veselin Cerovic, the Kovacevic's family attorney. "He does not believe in the justice system in the United States." Kovacevic's parents said their son was threatened and disdained because of his nationality and they felt they had to rescue him.
Steinhauer, who was two weeks shy of graduation, remains in critical condition more than two months after the bar fight. He's unable to drink or eat on his own, according to his parents, who say they are living through their own private hell.
Serbia agreed to cooperate in the case of Miladin Kovacevic, 20, who fled the United States in early June after he was charged in the May 4 assault of a fellow Binghamton University student at a bar in Binghamton, New York.
The fight started May 4, when Bryan Steinhauer, 22, tried to dance with the girlfriend of one of Kovacevic's friends. Witnesses said Kovacevic, who is 6-foot-9, 280 pounds, kicked the 5-foot-9, 130-pound Steinhauer repeatedly in the head as he lay on the ground. Three men, including Kovacevic, were charged with assault and gang assault and held on $100,000 bail, according to police.
Kovacevic, who had been recruited to play basketball for the university, managed to flee the United States after his mother flew to New York to post bail and a Serbian consular official provided him with a temporary passport.
A Serbian consulate staffer in New York is accused of providing Kovacevic with emergency travel documents that helped him flee the country. The Serbian foreign ministry has recalled two consular officials back to Belgrade for disciplinary action.
"My client has told me he did not flee the country to hide from the justice system," said Veselin Cerovic, the Kovacevic's family attorney. "He does not believe in the justice system in the United States." Kovacevic's parents said their son was threatened and disdained because of his nationality and they felt they had to rescue him.
Steinhauer, who was two weeks shy of graduation, remains in critical condition more than two months after the bar fight. He's unable to drink or eat on his own, according to his parents, who say they are living through their own private hell.
2 responses // Serbian hoops player flees U.S. after assaulting a man who is now in Critical Condition.
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This guy almost kills an American and then runs to Serbia and says he doesn't believe in the American Justice system. What a coward.
He believed in our country enough to be here getting a free education, playing ball, and enjoying our bars. But once he tried to kill an American, he didn't believe in America anymore. Hmmm?
Again, what a coward.
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