ASUO Vice President Eduardo Morales will be in Eugene Municipal Court today on assault and criminal mischief charges stemming from a Sept. 12 incident. Morales pleaded innocent Oct. 22 to both charges.
Today’s proceedings are an opportunity for attorneys to reach a plea agreement; however, a jury trial will follow if an agreement is not reached, said Michelle Dunn, trial clerk at the court.
Officers from the Eugene Police Department cited Morales for allegedly assaulting University senior Erica Hass early in the morning of Sept. 12 near Taylor’s Bar and Grill, at 894 E. 13th Ave.
Hass later called police to report Morales had assaulted her.
During the police investigation, Hass told an officer that Morales ran at her screaming, shoved her down, dragged her by her ankle for 15 to 20 feet and smashed her cell phone.
Morales told police that Hass fell because she was drunk, and he said her cell phone was destroyed because she threw it at him and he threw it back.
Both Hass and Morales told police they had been asked to leave Taylor’s after engaging in an earlier verbal dispute.
Morales may face as much as a $500 fine and/or 100 days in jail if found guilty of assault, and a $2,500 fine and/or 100 days in jail if found guilty of criminal mischief in the second degree.
The trial, which will be held at 777 Pearl St. in Room No. 104, begins at 1:15 p.m.