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After a six-day trial, jurors found former San Francisco 49er offensive tackle Kwame Harris guilty of multiple misdemeanors related to an assault of an ex-boyfriend at a Menlo Park restaurant.
The verdict, delivered in San Mateo County Superior Court on Nov. 4, convicted Mr. Harris of misdemeanor domestic violence, misdemeanor battery and two counts of misdemeanor assault. The jury acquitted the 31-year-old Palo Alto resident of two related felony charges.
Early in the trial, the victim, Southern California resident Dmitri Geier, announced that he would not testify, even though he had taken the stand during a preliminary hearing. He has also dropped a civil lawsuit filed against Mr. Harris.
According to the district attorney’s office, the two men got into an argument over a container of rice at Su Hong To Go on Aug. 21, 2012, which escalated into physical violence. Mr. Harris punched Mr. Geier in the face and head several times, breaking bones around an eye socket, prosecutors said. The injuries required surgical repair. Mr. Geier allegedly hit back.
Sacramento-based attorney Alin Cintean, who defended Mr. Harris in the criminal case, has said that Mr. Geier hit Mr. Harris first and that Mr. Harris made a “reasonable response” to being “wrongfully assaulted.”
The judge denied the prosecution’s request to take Mr. Harris into custody following his conviction; instead he is expected to report for sentencing on Nov. 12.
Almanac reporter Dave Boyce contributed to this story.
