Chris Beard complainant wants charges dropped, coach's lawyer says

According to records from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard was arrested early Monday morning at 4:18 a.m. in Austin for “Assault on a family/household member.” He also was preventing the victim from breathing, per the report. Beard was booked with a third degree felony.

However, just hours after reports of his arrest leaked, Tony Plohetski of the Austin Statesman had updates on the situation, which he provided on Twitter.

First, he clarified some details on the situation, noting Beard allegedly tried to strange someone in his home. Here was that tweet:

“Austin police spokesman Brandon Jones says it is alleged that Beard strangled a person at a home in Tarrytown. Officers responded to a 911 ‘disturbance-urgent’ call at 2:07 a.m. Monday.”

Then Plohetski offered another update, which came as of 9 a.m. local Central Time:

“As of 9 a.m., Beard remains in the Travis County Jail in downtown Austin. He has not yet seen a judge for the setting of a bond. The charge he faces is a third degree felony, for which a person faces up to 10 years in prison.”

Another tweet from Plohetski featured a statement from Perry Minton, Beard’s lawyer, who was convinced of his client’s innocence regarding the situation. Here was the statement via Plohetski’s tweet:

“BREAKING: Prominent Austin attorney Perry Minton, representing Beard says: ‘Coach Beard is 100 percent innocent of these charges. He should have never been arrested. The complainant wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It is truly inconceivable.'”

Another reporter for the Statesman, Ryan Autullo, provided more critical information — that the complainant in this case is Beard’s fiance.

“NEW: I’m told the complaining witness in Chris Beard’s arrest is his fiancé,” Autullo tweeted. However, he later deleted that tweet and commented that he did so out of respect of privacy for the involved parties.

“I removed a tweet on Chris Beard that identified his relationship with the complainant in his arrest. I did this out of privacy concerns for the complainant,” he added.

That’s the latest on the Chris Beard situation. More to come as the day continues.