Shilo Sanders’ bankruptcy case is off to a rough start, and the early testimony has only sharpened the fight over what happened in that 2015 altercation with school security guard John Darjean.
Sanders, the former Colorado safety, is trying to wipe out the $11.89 million default judgment that came out of the civil case tied to the incident. But according to USA TODAY’s Brent Schrotenboer, who has been following the trial, Darjean’s side came out swinging in opening statements and immediately challenged the backbone of Sanders’ defense.
Darjean’s attorney, Ori Raphael, argued that Sanders has changed his version of events over time, which undercuts the self-defense claim Sanders has tried to lean on in bankruptcy court. “For 10 years the defense (claimed) he never touched a man, a blow he swears he never struck,” Raphael told the judge in his opening.
“If that’s the case, it cannot be self-defense. No one accidentally acts in self-defense… And if today he changes his tune, his credibility, which is also on trial, is shattered.”
Sanders’ attorney, Victor Vital, pushed back by framing the case around what happened when Sanders was 15. Vital said Darjean used “disproportionate physical force” and argued, “The plaintiff escalated the encounter using disproportionate physical force against a 15-year-old boy,” adding, “The evidence is going to show he manhandled my client.”
Monday’s proceedings did not include live testimony. Instead, the court heard video testimony from earlier lawsuits in 2017 and 2018.
In one of those clips, school founder Leroy McClure said Darjean had been found to do “nothing wrong” in an internal investigation. “I found him to do nothing wrong,” McClure testified in the video.
McClure also described confronting Sanders about the incident and said he worried the exchange could turn physical. “He was very adamant about not giving up that phone,” McClure testified.
“In fact, he still had the phone in his hand. The way he was carrying himself, I thought there would be another confrontation that would have been between Shilo Sanders and myself.”
Darjean was seen getting teary-eyed during that testimony.
Day Two of the trial is set for Tuesday, when witnesses are expected to testify in person. Shilo Sanders’ father, Deion Sanders, is not currently expected to testify.
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