Witnesses testified on Thursday that Dallas school security guard John Darjean was the one who assaulted Shilo Sanders in a 2015 incident, adding to contradictory testimony a judge will evaluate to determine whether the former CU football player must pay Darjean $11.89 million owed from a previous civil case.
Ruda James, the former principal of Focus Learning Academy, testified on Thursday afternoon that Darjean attacked Sanders during the Sept. 17, 2015, incident at the Dallas school.
“He was pushing Shilo into the glass window, and he was choking him,” James said.
Judge Michael E. Romero heard the testimony in Denver bankruptcy court on Thursday during a trial where Romero will determine whether Sanders acted willfully and maliciously during the incident. Darjean says that the then 15-year-old Sanders assaulted him and caused permanent injuries.
The court determined on Thursday that CU Buffs head football coach Deion Sanders will not be called to testify on Friday. The court required that Deion Sanders be available virtually at 1:30 p.m. MDT Friday in case his testimony is needed, but it will not be.
During James’ cross examination, Darjean’s lawyer Ori Raphael played a recording of a phone call between James and Shilo Sanders’ mom immediately after the incident, where she told his mom that Darjean “had Shilo against the wall and then they both fell to the ground.” When Sanders’ mom asked if Darjean was choking her son, James said, “I didn’t see the neck part.”
When Raphael asked James about her inconsistent statements, James said she didn’t know the context of what she said that day and that her “written statement is my collected thoughts.” It was unclear which written statement she was referring to. A police report from that day includes an account from James that also does not include any statements about Darjean’s hands on Sanders’ neck.
Raphael raised concerns about witness bias and past animosity between James and Darjean, which Romero did not allow Raphael to elaborate on or explore due to the limited scope of evidence allowed at trial. James testified that she had no animosity toward Darjean before the incident but that she “lost respect for” Darjean when she “saw him choking” Sanders.
James and front desk clerk Saundra Haynes, who testified via video deposition on Monday, have contradicting accounts of what happened despite both having witnessed the altercation from similar viewpoints in the school’s lobby. On the right side of the lobby, there are glass doors leading to the gym foyer, where the altercation happened. Haynes testified that Sanders was the aggressor, and that Darjean acted professionally in restraining him. Haynes was one of four witnesses on Monday who testified via video deposition that Sanders was the aggressor and Darjean was not at fault.
Former physical education teacher Heiser Shields testified that Sanders was not disruptive, cursing or kicking or throwing chairs at any point, as Darjean and others had testified. Sanders was already sitting down outside of the disciplinary office when Darjean approached him. When Sanders saw Darjean approach, he got up and walked away from him.
“He (Darjean) didn’t have to go and grab him (Sanders),” said Shields, who was leading an elementary school gym class at the time.
Shields saw Darjean take Sanders by the arm and saw Sanders yank his arm out of Darjean’s grip. Shields did not see the altercation after that because he was handling his students in the gym. When he saw the altercation again, Shields testified, Darjean was on top of Sanders. Shields said he then walked over to help Darjean get off Sanders.
Earlier Thursday, Darjean collapsed in the courtroom, having finished his testimony. A witness said that during Thursday’s lunch break, Darjean collapsed. Darjean’s attorney, Ori Raphael, said afterward that Darjean was taken to a hospital via ambulance.
Darjean had told the court Thursday morning that he was dealing with excruciating back pain.
Darjean sued Sanders and was awarded $11.89 million in 2022. Sanders filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and now hopes to discharge, or erase, the debt owed to Darjean. Romero will determine whether Sanders acted willfully and maliciously, because under U.S. bankruptcy law, debts resulting from a “willful and malicious injury” cannot be discharged by filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Witness testimony has ended, and the trial is expected to conclude on Friday. After the trial, the court will typically take the matter under advisement and issue a written opinion or schedule an oral ruling as soon as possible.
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