Jamill C. Jones, 37, appeared in Queens Supreme Criminal Court on Thursday
The former Wake Forest assistant basketball coach who is charged in the one-punch death of a Florida tourist has appeared in court.
Jamill C. Jones, 37, appeared in Queens Supreme Criminal Court on Thursday for a pre-trial hearing. He is charged with misdemeanor assault in the August 2018 death of 35-year-old Sandor Szabo.
Also present in court for the hearing was Szabo’s mother, Donna Kent, who lives in North Carolina and dutifully made the trek to press for justice in her son’s case.
The case, originally set for trial on August 6, has been pushed back numerous times for various adjournments and delays. Thursday marked Jones’ 10th court appearance in the case.
Attorney Christopher Renfroe is listed as Jones’ lawyer in court records. When reached on the phone by DailyMail.com, a man at Renfroe’s firm refused to comment on Jones’ case.
Cops say Sandor Szabo mistakenly knocked on Jone’s car window, thinking he was an Uber driver, when Jones stormed out of the vehicle and punched him
The mother of victim Sandor Szabo, Donna Kent attended the Thursday hearing with family friend Dan Hamilton in Queens Supreme Criminal Court
Jones remained expressionless at the Thursday court hearing ahead of trial
Jones is charged with misdemeanor assault in the August 2018 death of Sandor Szabo
In April of this year, Jones resigned from his coaching position after spending eight months on administrative leave.
In a statement at the time, Jones vowed that he would ‘focus all of my attention and energy on resolving my legal case.’
On August 5, 2018, Szabo was visiting New York City from Boca Raton, Florida, for his stepsister’s wedding when he got in an altercation with Jones on the way back to his hotel in Long Island City.
According to police, Szabo knocked on Jones’ car window thinking it was his Uber ride, and Jones got out of the car and punched Szabo in the face.
The NYPD released this surveillance video of the attacker, prompting Jones to turn himself in
Surveillance video also caught Jone’s SVU speeding away from the scene of the attack
Szabo’s felt to the ground where his head hit the pavement, and he lost consciousness, cops said. Meanwhile, Jones is accused of getting back in his white SUV and speeding away from the scene.
Brought to a local hospital in critical condition, Szabo was pronounced dead, but was kept on live support for a day so that his organs could be donated to recipients in need.
In late September, the New York City medical examiner ruled that Szabo’s death was the result of a homicide, listing the official cause of death as ‘blunt impact injury of the head with brain injury.’
The victim’s brother, Dominic Szabo, 33, said Sandor was ‘the nicest guy you’ve ever meet’, speculating that his brother had likely been attempting to hail a ride back to his hotel and ‘probably just tapped on the wrong guy’s car’ that night’.
Jones is seen coaching from the sidelines at a February 2018 Wake Forrest game. He resigned this April after spending eight months on administrative leave
Jones is seen left during an appearance in Queens Criminal Court in August
After the NYPD released surveillance footage of Jones at the scene of the altercation, he turned himself in to police in Queens.
Szabo was vice president for sales at What If Media Group, a digital media company.
‘He was always upbeat, positive, kind and caring,’ the company said in a Facebook post. ‘He was fun to be with, interesting, and always interested. He was a really good person.’
The company also sponsored a memorial foundation in Szabo’s memory, requesting donations to support marine conservation.