A week after his arraignment was cancelled because of a mail mishap, Boston University ice hockey player John Sabo was charged with assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon (his foot) and threats against a fellow BU student. He will be arraigned on Monday, Feb. 24.
Sabo, a Metropolitan College senior, has also filed a criminal complaint of assault and battery against Christopher Boccuzzi, the student Sabo allegedly attacked on the morning of Sept. 22, 2002. That hearing is also scheduled for Feb. 24.
Sabo was originally to be arraigned Feb. 4 on the current charges plus one of mayhem, but his lawyers argued last week that notification of the hearing had been sent to the wrong address, which did not allow him enough time to prepare a defense.
The Brighton District Court brought the complaint against Sabo after a lengthy investigation, according to Brighton Police Department Detective Arthur O’Connell. Sabo was identified by ‘a number of sources’ from pictures of the ice hockey team, O’Connell said. No other hockey players were identified as being involved in the fight.
Although both parties had been drinking during the early morning of the 22nd, the investigators determined no one was under the influence, O’Connell said. The altercation began when Sabo started to argue with a woman at The Avenue, a bar in Brighton, according to O’Connell.
‘Boccuzzi told him to chill out, and Sabo took offense,’ O’Connell said. ‘Things just escalated from there.’
Sabo allegedly threatened Boccuzzi in the bar, telling him ‘you’re dead,’ O’Connell said. The two and their respective groups of friends left the bar to fight afterward. Sabo’s group of friends numbered 15, while Boccuzzi’s group numbered six. Witnesses reported numerous people, including Sabo, kicking Boccuzzi while he was on the ground during the fight, according to O’Connell.
O’Connell said he was unaware of any BU investigation into the matter, but said he would subpoena ‘any and all’ information pertaining to reprimands or charges against Sabo.
However, business lawyer and Boccuzzi family friend Phillip Slotnick criticized the university for what he believed was a lack of investigation.
‘Why is BU not looking?’ he asked. ‘Fourteen or 15 kids jumped this other kid.’
Boston University is unable to comment on whether it is investigating or has investigated a student involved in a criminal matter, a spokesman for the Office of Judicial Affairs said last week.
At the arraignment in two weeks, the judge will decide whether or not to set bail for Sabo, O’Connell said. He would then set a time for pre-trial conferences and the trial date. The entire process could take one and a half to two months.
No matter what the outcome of this criminal trial is, Boccuzzi will file a civil suit against Sabo as well, according to his mother, Kathleen Boccuzzi.
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