Clovis pickup basketball game leads to assault trial

It was supposed to be a friendly pickup game of basketball among friends and associates inside a Clovis high school gym.

But something went terribly wrong that hot August day in 2012.

A punch was thrown during the game and a 68-year-old player fell to the ground.

Chris Terrence broke his jaw, lost teeth and needed 11 stitches, prosecutor Nolan Kane said Wednesday in opening statements of the Fresno County Superior Court criminal trial for the man who threw the punch – Branko Boris Dealba, 30, who is charged with assault and battery causing great bodily injury.

Dealba is claiming self-defense.

Terrence, now 71, is a local celebrity with his own television show and more than 30 years of experience in the radio/television/production business.

He was hurt Aug. 12, 2012, at Gateway High School, a continuation high school near Clovis and Herndon avenues.

Though Terrance is old by basketball standards, he has played the game all of his life, stays in shape, and is skilled at boxing out people and getting rebounds, defense attorney David Munoz, who is defending Dealba, told the jury in opening statements.

He and Dealba are about the same height and weight – 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds.

Both sides agree that Terrence and Dealba had played before without any trouble, but Dealba wasn’t part of the normal group of players. Because the group was missing a player, they let Dealba play, Munoz said.

Munoz told the jury that most of the players are “big guys”– 6-foot-5, 200 pounds – so Dealba was assigned to guard Terrence and vice versa.

While playing, Terrence felt Dealba was playing too aggressively and he let him know about his bad basketball behavior, Kane said.

Because of the argument, Dealba was assigned to guard another player, but the argument between him and Terrence continued, Kane said.

Then out of the blue, Dealba threw one punch, smacking Terrence in the jaw, the prosecutor said.

“There was no fight. There was no threat,” he said. “There’s no self-defense.”

But Munoz said Terrence started the fight.

Munoz told the jury that Terrence thinks he’s in charge of the gym because he opens it and sweeps the floors. “He’s an alpha male who thinks he owns it,” Munoz said.

Terrance also was cursing Dealba, creating a hostile environment, said Munoz, who pointed out that it was Dealba who asked to guard someone else to diffuse the situation.

Before the punch was thrown, Terrence continued to argue with Dealba and walked toward him, Munoz said. Dealba then told Terrence to back off or he would throw a punch, Munoz said.

When Terrence lifted one of his arms toward his own head, Dealba punched him, Munoz said.

“He punched one time. There was no kick, no taunting,” he told the jury.

Dealba left the gym after the other players said they would take care of Terrence, Munoz said.

He was later arrested and booked into jail. He is free on his own recognizance.

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Clovis pickup basketball game leads to assault trial."