Crime

Five people charged in Alton High School basketball game brawl

By Hana Muslic
A frame taken from video footage of the brawl between Alton and Riverview Gardens shows a scrum of players moving toward the bleachers as a referee is knocked down. The fight resulted in a double forfeit and a cancellation of the Alton Tip-Off Classic’s remaining games.
A frame taken from video footage of the brawl between Alton and Riverview Gardens shows a scrum of players moving toward the bleachers as a referee is knocked down. The fight resulted in a double forfeit and a cancellation of the Alton Tip-Off Classic’s remaining games.

Prosecutors have charged five people in connection with a fight that broke out at a high school basketball game in Alton last month.

On Nov. 28, police were called to break up a fight at the Tip-Off Classic game between Alton High School and Riverview Gardens High School.

According to a news release from the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, police determined that senior player Ahmad R. Sanders, 18, engaged in a physical altercation with another player on the court and that fight spilled into the stands. A referee who tried to intervene was pushed to the ground in the melee.

Sanders was charged with one count of aggravated battery and three counts of resisting a peace officer, the release stated. His bail was set at $40,000. If convicted, he faces 2 to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.

Two other people, 18-year-old Cri’Shonna R. Hickman and 37-year-old Tiffany K. Brown, were both charged with one count of aggravated battery, the release stated. Hickman and Brown’s bail were both set at $20,000.

Police also charged two juveniles, whose cases will remain in juvenile court, the release stated. No other information was available on those charges.

This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 4:24 PM.

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