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VCU basketball player Mo Alie-Cox charged 19 days after alleged assault

Posted at 11:54 PM, May 04, 2015
and last updated 2015-05-05 07:30:01-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- There are a lot of parallels between the basketball court and court of law. VCU basketball star Mo Alie-Cox will now know both, after he was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. But one legal expert said this is a case where it would be easy to play defense.

Alie-Cox, known for his hard work and hustle on the court, is one of the heavyweights in VCU's ‘HAVOC’ brand of basketball.

"I've played ball with him a few times," VCU student Harrison Wrenn said. "He's not a violent person, but if he actually hit a girl in her face, she'd be out cold."

Mo Alie-Cox (PHOTO: VCU)

Alie-Cox was charged after a woman accused of him of hitting her. She said  she was walking by Alie-Cox and a group of people inside the Society Club in Shockho Slip, when a woman asked her "What was she looking at?"

In a court affidavit, the woman said she responded with "I can look at whatever I want."

The alleged victim also said she made a comment about the basketball player being upset because Shaka Smart had left VCU. That was when she alleged the girl lunged at her. Then, she claimed Alie-Cox punched her in the face.

"It's [a] very defensible [case]. It doesn't look like a strong case and with the complaint being filed 19 days after the alleged incident, the warrant has a lot he can work with," WTVR CBS 6 legal expert Todd Stone said. "The fact that it happened at a bar, there should be a lot of people. So I assume she will bring a witness or two and he could bring witnesses that will exonerate him."

The alleged victim in this case declined an interview request.

The VCU Athletic Department released the following statement:

We are aware of the charge against Mo Alie-Cox and we will continue to monitor the situation closely. We will allow the legal process to run its course and act appropriately within our VCU Athletics student-athlete code of conduct as more details become clear.

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