PCHS football player charged with assault pleads guilty

In a case that Platte County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Eckold said was “unprecedented and unusual,” a Platte County R-3 High School football player plead guilty Tuesday to assaulting a Winnetonka High School player during a game between the two schools last October. Colin W. Byrd, 18, of Kansas City, plead guilty to the third-degree assault charge, a misdemeanor, at the Platte County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon. As part of a plea arrangement between Byrd and the state, Byrd was sentenced by Eckold to two years of supervised probation. He was also ordered by the court to pay restitution in the amount of $684.44 to the victim by no later than April 1, perform 100 hours of community service and complete a 12-week anger management program. Because Eckold suspended the imposition of Byrd’s sentence, his record will be sealed from the public if he successfully completes probation. “What happened that day was not football,” Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said. “Nothing less than assault was committed on that field.  If the defendant successfully completes probation, his record will be sealed.” According to court documents, during an Oct. 18 game between Platte County and Winnetonka, Byrd assaulted the victim by ripping off the victim’s helmet and striking him in the head with it. The assault occurred after a play in which Byrd and the victim ended up out of bounds. An official and a Winnetonka school official who both saw the play told authorities they believed Byrd intentionally hit the victim with the helmet. Byrd’s conduct drew a flag, and he was ejected from the game. The official told investigators he had been officiating football games for more than 20 years and had never seen anything like it. The victim, Jake Rosebaugh, 17, of Kansas City, suffered a significant injury resulting in a concussion. Immediately following the assault, Rosebaugh scored an 84 on a 0-125 concussion scale.  A doctor indicated that lesser concussions score in the 20-30 range. Rosebaugh has been cleared by the doctor to return to school but continues to remain under a doctor’s care Eckold also required Byrd to write an apology letter, which Byrd read in court to Rosebaugh, who attended the hearing with his father. The letter read: “I want to sincerely apologize for what happened during the football game between our two schools. I never intended for anything to happen to you or your season. I apologize that your season came to an abrupt end. I do hope that you are doing better and your concussion has finally subsided and any other trauma you might have endured as a result of the event has also gone away. I wish you the best of luck on your senior season next year, make it one to remember. I would also like to apologize to my coaches and my teammates and to the Platte County R-3 School District for my actions.”