Gwynn Park soccer player is acquitted

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from The Washington Post.

A juvenile court acquitted a female high school student from Prince George's County of assault charges stemming from a physical altercation in a high school soccer game.

Markeya Watson, a 17-year-old senior at Gwynn Park High School, had been charged with two accounts of second-degree assault for her involvement in a fight during a soccer game against Laurel High School on Sep. 29, 2003. The judge found Watson not guilty on both accounts. This case is one of the first of its kind in the D.C. metro area, where a student faced criminal charges for an altercation during a high school sporting event.

Watson's lawyers presented witnesses who said she was defending herself, while the prosecution argued that Watson was unprovoked. According to Judge Melanie Shaw Geter, both sides offered opposing but creditable arguments that kept her from convicting Watson.

If she had been found guilty, Watson could have been ordered to stay in juvenile detention until she was 21 and pay compensation to the victims.

Watson served a 65-day suspension from school and was ordered to perform 20 hours of community service by the Prince George's County Board of Education.

Lindsay Slavin and Ashley Pezeshkian of Laurel both suffered injuries in the fight. Slavin broke her arm in the altercation, while Pezeshkian had dental bills totaling nearly $10,000.

Pezeshkian denies aggravating the fight. "It wasn't a fight, it was an attack. Nobody swung at [Watson]. Nobody charged at her," said Pezeshkian in an interview with The Washington Post.

According to Watson, the experience was an emotional strain on her. "It was depressing to go through that stuff. They were looking at me like I was some kind of monster," said Watson in an interview with The Washington Post.

Watson has been permitted to return to school and play on the girls basketball team, which will be playing in the Maryland 3A semifinals. Watson received a basketball scholarship from Bowie State.

Watson regrets the incident and hopes the other girls can continue on with their lives. "I'm not a cold-hearted person. . . . I wish them the best of luck in whatever they do," said Watson in The Washington Post.

For more information, see The Washington Post article