OSU Assistant Coach Zach Smith Arrested(UPDATED INFO)

[Omega]

The offseason can be the most dangerous time of year for a college football program. From Eleven Warriors:

ZACH SMITH ARRESTED FOR CRIMINAL TRESPASSING, APPEARS IN COURT
By 11W Staff on July 18, 2018 at 1:25 pm

Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith appeared in court Wednesday afternoon after being charged with criminal trespassing, stemming from an incident in mid-May, according to a Delaware Municipal Court record.

According to an arrest record obtained by Eleven Warriors, police were dispatched to the home of Courtney Carano Smith, Zach Smith's ex-wife, around 8 p.m. on May 12. The report indicates that there was no forced entry and no suspected use of alcohol or drugs. Smith was charged with criminal trespassing, and has since pleaded not guilty.

According to the criminal complaint also obtained by Eleven Warriors, "Mr. Smith took his son to his ex-wife's residence (redacted) to drop him off after being instructed by Ms. Smith not to come to her residence and disregarding a previous criminal trespass warning that had been given to him by Detective Pentz on Dec. 19, 2017 at 2 p.m. The incident was witnessed by Ms. Smith and their son along with photographs of Mr. Smith's vehicle being present in her driveway. Mr. Smith also admitted to Sgt. Roach that he was present on Ms. Smith's property and acknowledged receipt of the trespass warning given to him by Detective Pentz."

Per the criminal complaint, criminal trespassing is a fourth-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or a $250 fine.

Ohio State has not commented on the situation.

While an arrest report was filed, Smith's attorney Brad Koffel said Wednesday during an interview on 610 WTVN Radio that his client was not taken into custody.

"Zach and his ex-wife have been divorced for a couple years. They have two kids as a result of this marriage. And as many divorced families, they have a joint plan for shared parenting," Koffel said. "This was a Saturday evening in May, and Zach was returning their 13-year-old son (Smith's son is actually 8 years old) to his ex-wife, which had previously been agreed upon. He dropped the son off at her apartment, and she was waiting for him with her cell phone out and took a picture of him in her driveway, and he left, and then she called the Powell Police and said it was trespassing.

"A criminal complaint was filed against Zach," Koffel continued. "He was never arrested. He went to Powell PD and picked up the criminal trespass complaint. At no point did he ever violate the shared parenting plan, and we entered a not guilty on June 5."

Smith is the lone remaining holdover from Urban Meyer's original staff at Ohio State. He has been the Buckeyes' wide receiver coach since 2012. Prior to his time in Columbus, Smith spent time at the University of Florida from 2005-2009 as both a quality control coach and graduate assistant. He spent the 2010 season coaching wide receivers at Marshall and the 2011 campaign coaching wide receivers and special teams at Temple.

Smith is also the grandson of former Ohio State head coach Earle Bruce.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-sta ... -wednesday
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The updated story was written with due process not yet being rendered, but the optics are troubling. There are comments attached to the article that call for the firing of Smith and even the ouster of Coach Meyer for a coverup of the assistant coach's prior history. Again from Eleven Warriors:

The ex-wife of Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith filed a domestic violence protection order against him Friday, according to a report from Brett McMurphy.

The order, filed with the Delaware, Ohio police department, would go into effect for five years, unless reversed by a judge at an Aug. 3 hearing, and prohibits Smith from being within 500 feet of his ex-wife, Courtney Carano Smith.

The ruling states: "the court finds that (Courtney Smith) is in immediate and present danger of domestic violence and for good cause the following temporary orders are necessary to protect the persons named (Courtney Smith and her children Cameron, 8, and Quinn, 6) in this order from domestic violence.”

The order entered the courts two days after Smith appeared in Delaware Municipal Court on charges of criminal trespassing.

Court and police records detail a history of domestic abuse allegations during and after the marriage.

In 2009, Zach was arrested and charged with felony assault while an assistant coach at the University of Florida after the police were called to the couple's apartment early in the morning of June 21.

The police report from that incident, obtained by Eleven Warriors, states that Zach arrived at their residence with a female co-worker and that Courtney “refused to have the unknown female, who Zach kept referring to as ‘baby,’ spend the night at their residence.”

An altercation ensued with Courtney, three months pregnant at the time, alleging that Zach threw her into the wall of their bedroom. The report states: "a verbal argument took place over the female and questions of infidelity arose. Courtney stated Zach was intoxicated and she took the female to her house. … Courtney stated when she returned to her residence, a heated argument ensued in the upstairs bedroom. Courtney stated she tried to get Zach out of her bed, which he refused and then forcefully grabbed her.”

The officer who filed the report stated "I observed that C. Smith's shirt had been stretched just above her right breast. C Smith's account of the incident was consistent with the redness to Z. Smith's right bicep because she advised that she attempted to hit him while he was picking her up."

"From the statements made on the scene, I determined that Z. Smith was the primary aggressor," the report went on to state.

Zach was handcuffed, and arrested without incident, but Courtney declined to file charges and the case was dropped.

In 2015, Powell police were called to the Courtney's residence with further allegations of domestic abuse. The police report from the October 26 incident, obtained by Eleven Warriors, states "that a domestic incident happened last night at [Courtney's] home and that she has been a victim of sustained physical abuse by the suspect."

Ohio State spokesperson Jerry Emig said in a statement that the university will not comment on Smith at this time.

"We are not going to comment at this time on the situation regarding Zach Smith," Emig said. "This is a personnel matter and we don’t typically discuss such matters publicly. We are continuing to monitor."

Smith is the last remaining member of Urban Meyer's original staff at Ohio State. He's been the team's wide receivers coach since 2012, and has also been the team's recruiting coordinator since 2015.

He is the grandson of former Ohio State head coach Earle Bruce, who died in April at the age of 87.

Before his time in Columbus, Smith previously worked for Meyer at Florida as a quality control coach from 2005-07 and as a graduate assistant in 2008 and 2009. Before that, he was the wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator at Temple in 2011 and the wide receivers coach at Marshall in 2010.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-sta ... y#comments

Again Coach Smith has not been convicted of any crime, yet I see Ohio State having to take action against him. The on going sex abuse investigation at State and the PC #metoo wave make it likely.

[1987chieftains]

heard his lawyer on 610 yesterday. he basically said this was just a big pile of crap.

[Omega]

heard his lawyer on 610 yesterday. he basically said this was just a big pile of crap.

That is what I surmise too. Yet the distraction away from the football field can be disruptive on the gridiron. Smith's wide receiver corp will need to be at their best if Haskins is going to be successful at quarterback for the Buckeyes.

[1987chieftains]

Not to mention the devastation to Zachs name.

[purpleblood1]

Who'd he shoot? Did he molest someone? Why would his name be devastated? He dropped his son off and drove away. Sounds like he has a psycho ex.