Staff writer
Charges are pending after one Tabor athlete was hospitalized and another suffered minor injuries in incidents 30 minutes apart in and around Hillsboro last week.
Manuel Michael Pineda, 23, a 5-foot-10, 225-pound senior linebacker on the Tabor football team, suffered a severe laceration and loss of consciousness in an altercation shortly after 3 a.m. Oct. 26 at a rental home at 406 S. Ash St. in Hillsboro, according to a police report.
Around 2:30 a.m. the same day, Lance Carter, 21, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound sophomore guard-forward on the basketball team, suffered apparent minor injuries in an incident at 1139 Limestone Rd., 11 miles southeast of Hillsboro.
The Hillsboro house, a single-family dwelling, is rented by Tabor students but is not Pineda’s home, police said. Appraisal records indicate it is owned by Jenny and Daniel Pohlmann of Hillsboro.
The Limestone Rd. address is a rural Peabody farm home owned but not occupied by Elmer and Ardene Delk of rural Marion, appraisal records show. Tabor’s football roster lists Dylan Delk of Peabody as a junior defensive end.
Pineda’s injuries were reported to police by Hillsboro Community Hospital after Pineda sought treatment, Police Chief Daniel Kinning said.
Carter reported his injuries himself the next day, according to a sheriff’s office report.
Police were at the scene of neither incident.
Kinning said the Limestone Rd. incident occurred at a party. The sheriff’s report regarding that incident indicated alcohol was involved.
According to Kinning, Pineda left the party and was followed to the rental home.
The police report for the incident at the rental home said charges against three adult males were pending.
The sheriff’s office was unable to confirm a connection between the two incidents.
County Attorney Susan Robson said events were still under investigation and her office was waiting to get a final report before considering charges.
Three people other than Pineda were listed on the Hillsboro police report: Anthony Daniel, 23, of Orange, California; Jordan Brown, 20, of Santa Ana, California; and Matthew McElroy, 21, of Black Canyon City, Arizona. All are current or former Tabor football players.
Brown and McElroy were listed as “witnesses,” and Daniel was listed as “other.”
Pineda, Daniel, and Brown all transferred to Tabor from Santa Ana Community College, the same college attended by Tabor football player Brandon Brown, who died in 2012 of complications from injuries suffered in an altercation in McPherson.
Former McPherson College football player Alton Lamont Franklin was charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder in Brandon Brown’s death.
Brandon Brown and Jordan Brown are not related.
The names of the suspects in the latest reported beatings were not released.
Kinning said the three people named on the report were not necessarily suspects. The report mentions four suspects, all of whom were reported to be acquaintances of Pineda.
The report involving Pineda lists the alleged crime as aggravated battery by knowingly using a weapon and disorderly conduct for brawling or fighting. The alleged weapon was described as a blunt object. Kinning said it might have been a fist, but police were uncertain.
The sheriff’s report mentions only one suspect for the attack on Carter. The suspect was reported to be an acquaintance. The lone offense alleged was battery by causing bodily harm to another.
After inquiries from the newspaper, Tabor College released a statement, saying it was aware of the reported beatings.
“We are currently conducting our own investigation regarding the incident, as well as cooperating with local law enforcement to resolve this issue in a timely manner,” the statement read. “We are also following our internal policies and procedures in dealing with all students involved.”
A Tabor spokeswoman said any disciplinary measures against students who might be involved would be considered private. She declined to comment further.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated the events detailed occurred “last Wednesday,” which would incorrectly have been Oct. 29. It also incorrectly identified the college Pineda, Daniel, Jordan Brown, and Brandon Brown transferred from as Santa Monica Community College.