Teen basketball player facing felony charges after footage showed brutal 'attack' on opponent
Topics: Basketball, Crime, US News
Liv Bridge
Featured Image Credit: Facebook / West Virginia Division of Corrections Systems
Topics: Basketball, Crime, US News
A teenage basketball player is facing a string of felony charges after allegedly attacking an opponent at a game.
Gage Ketterman, a basketball player at Harman High School in Randolph County, West Virgina, is facing a trio of felony charges after his game behavior was brought to the attention of cops.
The 18-year-old player has been accused of 'maliciously' elbowing an opponent in the face and breaking his nose during a game between Harman High and Union High last month.
Advert
According to court documents seen by WBOY, the teen was arrested on Monday (April 7) for the alleged assault which took place mid-game.
Local cops reportedly received notice of the attack on February 27 after the injured pupil's mom reported the extent of his injuries caused by the incident hours later.
The mom, from Elk Garden, allegedly said her 17-year-old son had been 'elbowed in the face' by an opponent, later identified as Ketterman, which caused his nose to bleed 'profusely' for more than four hours.
Her son required hospital treatment at Garrett Memorial Hospital after he struggled to contain the bleeding.
Concerning video footage of the incident was shared with police which appeared to corroborate the mom's report, showing the teen striking the basketball player in the face.
Ketterman allegedly swung and jabbed his elbow 'directly' and 'deliberately' into the Union Player.
He also apparently struck or tried to strike other players from the opposing team in the back of the head.
At one point in the game, Ketterman can also apparently be seen 'wiping something off the elbow he had just used to strike [the player]'.
Cops said his actions appeared to be 'intentional and criminal malicious in nature.'
As Ketterman was 18 at the time of the incident, the teen will be charged as an adult, police confirmed.
As a result, cops issued three warrants for his arrest, including one for malicious assault and two for attempted malicious assault.
The teen was arrested on Monday and released the same day after posting $12,500 bond, the West Virginia Magistrate Court records show.
His next court date will be May 22.