Glenside Juvenile Arrested for Alleged Assault of Norristown Basketball Coach

Written by Keith Heffintrayer 


The Cheltenham Township Police Department has announced the arrest of a 15-year-old Cheltenham High School freshman from Glenside, in connection with the February assault of a Norristown basketball coach.

The incident occurred on Feb. 8 at Cheltenham High School, after the Norristown basketball team beat Cheltenham 59-38. Tensions from the heated game spilled off the court afterward, when nearly 100 Cheltenham supporters reportedly attacked the visiting team in the hallway.

At one point during the melee, Norristown High Assistant Basketball Coach Greg Bates was attempting to pull multiple attackers off of one of his players who was being stomped on the ground, at which point another attacker came in and struck Bates in the head with a brick, police said.

"One of the kids came off from the left – someone said he had a brick in his hand – and he hits me," said Bates.

Bates suffered a gash in his head, and was taken to Chestnut Hill Hospital for treatment and stitches.

Police immediately began an investigation into the brawl, but due to the large amount of uncooperative witnesses, the case was taken before a Grand Jury, police said. As a result of the Grand Jury's investigation, police arrested a 15-year-old male from Glenside on July 26, who was attending Cheltenham High School as a freshman at the time of the assault.

The juvenile has been charged with one felony county of aggravated assault, plus additional charges of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct, according to police.