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Trial date set for Greg Oden to face battery charges after allegedly punching ex-girlfriend
An Oct. 22 jury trial date has been set for Greg Oden to face battery charges stemming from his arrest last Thursday after allegedly punching his ex-girlfriend in the face multiple times.
Oden, 26, made a brief appearance in Marion County, Ind., Superior Court on Wednesday morning on the three charges he faces: felony battery resulting in serious bodily injury, misdemeanor domestic battery and misdemeanor battery resulting in serious bodily injury. Conviction on the Level 5 felony count carries a sentence of between one and six years in prison. A judge entered a not-guilty plea for Oden on Wednesday.
From Bill McCleery of the Indianapolis Star:
Oden must continue wearing a GPS monitoring device for at least a few more weeks to track his whereabouts, a judge ruled, but may keep plans to move out-of-state. Oden also has a no-contact order forbidding him from any communication with his ex-girlfriend and another woman present the night of the alleged battery at Oden's mother's home in Lawrence. [...]
Oden wore a dark business suit to this morning's hearing and said little except to provide basic information requested by the judge.
Lawrence police were called to a home belonging to Oden's mother at about 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 7, and arrived "to find the victim crying and lying across a bed holding her face," according to McCleery and Matthew Glenesk of the Star. The police report references "blood, swelling to the nose, lacerations to the forehead and nose area of the victim's face," as well as "blood on the sofa and floor in the sitting area," and "on the living room carpet."
Oden, whom officers described as "calm, apologetic and cooperative," told police that the domestic incident occurred after an argument with the woman, an ex-girlfriend whom he had dated for about two years before they broke up about two months ago. (Multiple media reports have since identified the woman as 24-year-old Christina Green.)
"Things got out of control and I started to go after [Green]," the 7-foot, 285-pound Oden told officers, according to the police report. "My mother and [Green's friend] tried to hold me back, but I swung my arms to move them out of the way and then punched [Green] in the face. I was wrong and I know what has to happen."
A probable cause affadavit accompanying the charges filed against Oden includes a more detailed and harrowing account of the incident from Green's perspective:
[The victim] said that she again tried to move away from Gregory Oden and went to wake [his mother] in the hope that she could calm her son. [The victim] stated that as she was coming back down the stairs Gregory Oden attacked her, grabbing her by the left arm and began to shove her around the family room. She advised this caused her pain and bruising to her left arm. She said [deleted] attempted to intervene to shield her from Gregory Oden. [The victim] said Gregory Oden then pushed her onto the couch and leaned over the top of her. She said that he then punched her with a closed right fist three times in the face, causing her pain. She stated that [deleted] and [deleted] had grabbed Gregory Oden by his left arm and tried to pull him off of her. She advised that she was struck once in the left eye, once in the forehead and once in the nose. [The victim] stated that the punch to her forehead created a laceration that began to bleed heavily. She advised that she was unable to fight back, and Gregory Oden only stopped assaulting her when he saw the blood on her face. He then moved away from her and called the police.
Green "received a CAT scan, three stitches between her eyebrows and a prescription for pain and swelling in her face" at Community Hospital North in Indianapolis. Her left eye "was nearly swollen shut."
Oden remains a free agent after averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in 9.2 minutes per game over 23 regular-season appearances for the Miami Heat in a comeback campaign that constituted his first NBA action since 2009, when multiple knee injuries ended a disappointing and curtailed career with the Portland Trail Blazers. Should the case proceed as scheduled, the fact that Oden's trial begins one week before the start of the 2014-15 season will probably not help the injury-plagued backup center's chances of finding NBA employment this year.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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