A high school basketball player in West Virginia is facing felony charges after he allegedly fouled and broke the nose of another player.
Gage Ketterman, 18, of Bowden, has been charged with malicious assault and two counts of attempted malicious assault, according to the Inter-Mountain, a newspaper out of Elkins, West Virginia.
A criminal complaint states that officers were called by the mother of a basketball player from Union High School. She said during a game on February 26, her 17-year-old son had his nose broken after he was "elbowed in the face" by a player on the Harman School team.
The mother told police that her son required hospital treatment for the injury, noting that he was bleeding "profusely" for more than four hours. She said her son had suffered a broken nose as well as a small cut to the bridge of his nose, which she claimed made it difficult for him to breathe.
The woman said her son required treatment from a specialist to address his injuries.
She identified Ketterman as the player who broke her son's nose, and said after reviewing video of the game, his actions were "obviously intentional and he was trying to hurt people," according to the police complaint.
Corporal Charles Hartman of the Moorefield Detachment of the West Virginia State Police reviewed videos of the game and determined in his report that Ketterman “placed both his feet firmly on the floor, reared back and swung his elbow directly into the face of” the 17-year-old player.
In a second video, Hartman said Ketterman was "swinging his elbow wildly again and striking the head" of the Union High School player, which caused the young man's head to get knocked forward.
Hartman said Ketterman was again "swinging his elbow wildly at the head of another Union player" in a third video. Ketterman allegedly hit the 16-year-old player's shoulder, which then glanced the back of the teen's head.
The injured player reportedly was told he could play out the rest of this season's games while wearing a full face mask, but his mother said he was reluctant to continue playing "because of him being apprehensive of further contact," according to the complaint.
The blow to the player's face reportedly struck high, making surgery difficult. The mother was reportedly advised that surgery "may be 'invasive'" and could lead to scarring. The family reportedly decided not to pursue the surgery, meaning the boy will just live with a crooked nose.
The officers reviewing the footage determined that Ketterman's actions appeared "intentional and criminally malicious in nature," according to the complaint.
On March 25, a judge approved arrest warrants for Ketterman. He was booked into the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on April 6.
He was initially held on a $12,500 property/surety bond, which was posted. Ketterman's first hearing is scheduled for May 22.
