DUBLIN, Calif. – Charges have been filed and arrests made against two teenagers allegedly involved in an attack against a Dublin High School football player last month.
Dublin police arrested 18-year-old Gerald Coats for felony assault, child abuse, and trespassing. A 17-year-old was also arrested in the case for felony assault.
The two are accused of being involved in the brutal beat down of 14-year-old freshman Dasanni on Aug. 23 in the high school’s locker room.
Dublin superintendent Chris Funk previously said that none of the attackers were students at Dublin High School, though Dublin police did confirm that the two arrested were former students of the Dublin Unified School District.
Cherie Barfield, Dasanni’s mother, said Coats and her son do not know each other, and that the incident stemmed from Dasanni having previously defended a student with disabilities acquainted with a female student.
Dasanni Barfield, the victim in the beat down at Dublin High Schools locker room.
While exact details of the incident haven’t been disclosed, it’s believed Dasanni had previously exchanged words with the unnamed female student, and that that student’s mother and four others dressed in hoodies confronted Dasanni after school before the attack.
The beating, recorded on camera, sent Dasanni to the hospital with head and face injuries.
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“He was diagnosed with a concussion, he had a black eye and a broken nose and, of course, he’s traumatized,” said Barfield, at the time of the attack. “They slammed his head into the locker….his whole face was swollen, his eyes were practically shut.”
Capt. Miguel Campos of the Dublin Police Department said the 17-year-old suspect has a familial relationship with the female student and the mother involved.
Neither the female student nor the mother were involved in the physical attack. Campos said it doesn’t appear as of now the mother coordinated the attack against Dasanni, and the two have not currently been charged for the attack.
However, Barfield disagrees, saying it was not a coincidence the attack occurred shortly before the confrontation.
The attack stopped when Dasanni’s football teammates and coach rushed into the locker room upon hearing the commotion and intervened.
KTVU reached out to Dublin High School and is awaiting comment.
Barfield shared that her son is doing better physically and if cleared, could play in an upcoming football game on Thursday.
Police are still working to identify the remaining suspects. Anyone with information about the beating, including video footage, is asked to contact Dublin Police Services at (925) 833-6670.
