<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">INDIANAPOLIS -- A man who hit former Indiana Pacers guard Stephen Jackson with a car during an October fight outside a strip club was convicted Monday in a ruling by a judge. Deon Willford was convicted of felony battery and failure to stop at an accident scene. The 23-year-old man waived his right to a jury trial. Marion Superior Court Judge Patricia Gifford rendered the verdict, finding him guilty on the two counts. Jackson testified Monday that he fired shots in the air during the Oct. 6 fight to try to break up the brawl. Jackson, who now plays for the Golden State Warriors, has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of criminal recklessness and misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct in the fight outside Club Rio. His trial is set for April 12. Jackson was booked into jail Oct. 12 and has been free since on $10,000 bond. The criminal recklessness charge carries a prison term of six months to three years. The player testified that when he was walking from the club to his car, a man approached him shouting, "Go ahead and dump, dump!" "Where I'm from, 'dump' means pull out your gun and shoot," he said. He fired a couple of shots in the air to break up the brawl that ensued, he said. "It was like an all-out brawl," he said. "I started seeing more and more faces I didn't know." One of Willford's attorneys, Jeffrey Mendez, told Gifford that Willford and his cousin were afraid after the shots were fired and that Willford then hit Jackson with the car. "Mr. Willford, in fear of his life, in fear of his cousin's life, does what the average reasonable person would have done," Mendez said. Authorities say Jackson got the gun from his car and fired it in the air before Willford ran into him with a car. Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley, teammate Marquis Daniels and former Pacer Jimmie Hunter were with Jackson at the club but not charged. Jackson's attorney, James Voyles, characterized what happened as a fight and said Jackson acted in self-defense. Jackson had stitches in his lip and other scrapes and bruises. At the time, Jackson was on probation for his role in a brawl between Indiana Pacers players and Detroit Pistons fans in 2004. Jackson pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault and battery charges in September 2005 for his role in the 2004 brawl. A Michigan judge ruled that the Indiana charges constituted a violation of Jackson's probation. Jackson faces up to 30 days in jail on the probation violation.</div> Source
