A former Leflore County supervisor has been found innocent of an assault charge related to an altercation at a skating rink.
Larry "Kite" Johnson was accused of striking 16-year-old Lorenzo Prayer in the nose with a flashlight while trying to break up a fight in July at Spotlite Skating Rink. Johnson is a co-owner of the rink.
Justice Court Judge Jim Campbell made the not-guilty ruling Wednesday, saying he saw no evidence of the type of severe injuries Prayer had claimed.
In court, Johnson showed a flashlight of the type used by his security guards at the rink. The flashlights are metal and weigh three to five pounds, he said.
Anyone struck by one of those flashlights would need reconstructive surgery for a broken nose, broken teeth and other in-juries, he said.
Johnson said he and his security guards just tried to separate the youths involved in the fight.
Anyone who is disruptive at the rink is ordered to leave, but "as far as anything that would put a child's life in danger, we don't do anything of that nature," he said.
Johnson said this was the first complaint against him in the six years he has run the skating rink.
The judge also said Prayer's apparent participation in the fight hurt his credibility.
