*An assistant Wake Forest University basketball coach could face murder charges now that the death of a man he punched has been declared a homicide, officials said Friday.
Jamill Jones, 35, was already charged with misdemeanor third-degree assault for punching Sabor Szabo during a confrontation in Long island City on Sunday, reports ESPN. He was released on his own recognizance after a brief court hearing Thursday evening.
Szabo was returning to his hotel after attending his stepsister’s wedding when he banged on the window of a parked SUV on 29th St. near 41st Ave. at 1:15 a.m., officials said. His brother told the Daily News he may have thought the SUV was his Uber ride, and was trying to get the driver’s attention. Instead, the hoops coach punched him, sending him flying backward, cops said. His head slammed into the sidewalk, and he never regained consciousness.
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Szabo, also 35, suffered fractures to the left side of his face and bleeding to the brain and died after he was taken off life support on Tuesday.
Jones surrendered to police early Thursday, with his lawyer, Alain Massena, at his side.
“It’s an unfortunate and tragic incident,” Massena, told ESPN. “Mr. Jones and his family, their deepest condolences go out to the Szabo family. We simply hope that the public gives Mr. Jones an opportunity to litigate this matter in the court and not in the press.”
Massena said Jones is cooperating fully with the investigation. Officials said the charges against Jones could be upgraded from misdemeanor assault during his next court appearance, which is set for October.
Statement from Wake Forest Athletics on Jamill Jones:
“We have just been made aware of this matter and we are gathering information.
“We will make a further statement after we learn more about the matter.”
— Wake Forest Sports (@DemonDeacons) August 9, 2018
Jones is set to begin his second season on Danny Manning’s Wake Forest staff after joining in the spring of 2017. He also spent time as an assistant coach at UCF, VCU and Florida Gulf Coast going back to 2013. Jones started his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Team Takeover AAU program after graduating from Arkansas Tech in 2008.
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