| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Man pleads innocent to charges he threw cell phone at Rangers outfielder
Tuesday April 22, 2003OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) A man pleaded innocent Tuesday to misdemeanor charges of battery and assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly beaning Texas Rangers right fielder Carl Everett with a cell phone.
Juan Carlos Serrano, 24, of Union City, did not appear in person at his arraignment in Alameda County Court. His attorney, Andrew Dosa, entered the plea on Serrano's behalf.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for May 19.
Serrano was arrested Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum during a game between the Rangers and Oakland Athletics on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. He was released on $15,000 bail.
Police said stadium security officers saw Serrano throw the cell phone that hit Everett in the back of the head.
Everett was not badly hurt, but was adamant the phone thrower be prosecuted.
Dosa said that he had just begun to review the police report in the case, but questioned whether prosecutors could prove that Serrano threw the phone deliberately to hit Everett.
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