Utah high school soccer player punches and kills referee. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

cmac2012 · #1 05-05-2013, 02:54 PM

Utah soccer referee punched by teen dies, police say - CBS News

Quote:

MURRAY, UTAHA 46-year-old soccer referee who was punched by a teenage player during a game and later slipped into a coma has died, police said.

Ricardo Portillo of Salt Lake City passed away at the hospital, where he was being treated following the assault last weekend, Unified police spokesman Justin Hoyal said Saturday night.

Police have accused a 17-year-old player in a recreational soccer league of punching Portillo after the man called a foul on him and issued him a yellow card.

"The suspect was close to Portillo and punched him once in the face as a result of the call," Hoyal said in a press release.

The teen, whose name hasn't been released because of his age, has been booked into juvenile detention on suspicion of aggravated assault.

Hoyal said authorities will consider additional charges since Portillo has died.

He said an autopsy is planned. No cause of death was released.

Portillo suffered swelling in his brain and had been listed in critical condition, Dr. Shawn Smith said Thursday at the Intermountain Medical Center in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray.

The victim's family, which publicly spoke of Portillo's plight this past week, has asked for privacy, Hoyal said.

Johana Portillo, 26, said last week that she wasn't at the April 27 game in the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville, but she said she's been told by witnesses and detectives that the player hit her father in the side of the head.

"When he was writing down his notes, he just came out of nowhere and punched him," she said.

Accounts from a police report, Portillo's daughter and others further detail what occurred.

The teenager was playing goalie during a game at Eisenhower Junior High School in Taylorsville when Ricardo Portillo issued him a yellow card for pushing an opposing forward trying to score a goal. In soccer, a yellow card is given as a warning to a player for an egregious violation of the rules. Two yellow cards lead to a red card and expulsion from the game.

The teenager, quite a bit heavier than Portillo, began arguing with the referee, then unleashed a punch to his face. Portillo seemed fine at first, then asked to be held because he felt dizzy. He sat down and started vomiting blood, triggering his friend to call an ambulance.

When police arrived around noon, the teenager was gone and Portillo was laying on the ground in the fetal position. Through translators, Portillo told EMTs that his face and back hurt and he felt nauseous. He had no visible injuries and remained conscious. He was considered to be in fair condition when they took him to the Intermountain Medical Center.

But when Portillo arrived to the hospital, he slipped into a coma with swelling in his brain. Johana Portillo called detectives to let them know his condition had worsened.

That's when detectives intensified their search for the goalie. By Saturday evening, the teenager's father agreed to bring him down to speak with police.

Portillo's family said he had been attacked before, and Johanna Portillo said she and her sisters begged their father to stop refereeing because of the risk from angry players, but he continued because he loved soccer.

"It was his passion," she said. "We could not tell him no."

joegolden · #2 05-05-2013, 03:02 PM

Wow...punk ass kids in rehearsal deep now...sad

spdrun · #3 05-05-2013, 04:25 PM

I've heard people shouting "KILL THE UMP!" but never seen anyone take it literally.

cmac2012 · #4 05-05-2013, 04:46 PM

Story has it the kid was large and sucker punched him in the side of his head. Wow . . .

Somehow I doubt he'll get more than 5 years, if that.

spdrun · #5 05-05-2013, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

Story has it the kid was large and sucker punched him in the side of his head. Wow . . .

Somehow I doubt he'll get more than 5 years, if that.

Unless there was proven intent to kill, that's about what he should get.

Air&Road · #6 05-05-2013, 04:51 PM

Very sad! I guess this is one incident that is the opposite of what I have usually seen in youth sports. In my experience the kids usually do fine. It s the parents that are typically the ones going Ape shlt.

Pooka · #7 05-05-2013, 05:50 PM

I think the NFL has a rule that if you touch a Ref you are thrown out of the game.

Is this correct? Or am I thinking of Hockey?

ILUVMILS · #8 05-05-2013, 06:06 PM

Assuming he'll be tried as an adult, what is the right thing to do?

Again, assuming that both the victim and the accused have family and loved ones, I think it's fair to say that many lives have been shattered.

What can be gained from locking the kid up for life? Is there any risk to the public if he's shown leniency? Will the victim's family scream for justice, or will they ask the court to show mercy? Is the accused truly remorseful or not?Tough questions, no doubt.

Hopefully, the Medical Examiner, the Prosecutor's Office, and any witnesses will help provide the right answer. Either way it just sucks.

layback40 · #9 05-05-2013, 06:54 PM

WOW
An act of violence in the USA & not a gun, bomb, muslim or terrorist to be seen !! Whats it all coming to !!?

Txjake · #10 05-05-2013, 08:08 PM

Drown the murdering bastard

sloride · #11 05-05-2013, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spdrun

Unless there was proven intent to kill, that's about what he should get.

I disagree with that as if someone shoots someone in the upper body they have to prove they intended to kill them if death resulted. I also read that in the chase for the Boston marathon bombers there was a campus officer that lost his life when he was shot in the leg and bled to death. The perpetrator could say he was just trying to slow down the officer so then he would get a slap on the wrist is that the correct sentence for that death.

t walgamuth · #12 05-05-2013, 10:17 PM

I think if you aim a gun at someone and pull the trigger it would be tough to prove you were not trying to kill them....unless you are this fantastic professional shot who can shoot the Johnson off a fly at 100 yards.

As for the kid, I doubt he was trying to kill the ref. I imagine he will get some serious punishment but not be convicted of Murder...some sort of manslaughter I suppose.

pj67coll · #13 05-05-2013, 11:14 PM

Without knowing the facts I'd say the little **** should fry. Assuming there were extenuating circumstances, though what the hell they could be I cannot for the life of me imagine, then in terms of justice I'd say the victims family should have a significant say.

- Peter.