Suspect in beating of Riverdale coach remains in custody

MURFREESBORO -- A 17-year-old Riverdale male student accused of assaulting Riverdale football coach Ron Aydelott will remain in custody until his next hearing date in May, Magistrate Adam Dodd told the teen in Juvenile Court Wednesday afternoon.

The student appeared in court for his first hearing at the Rutherford County Juvenile Services Center Wednesday. With his head down, he heard Riverdale School Resource Officer James Coots testify that he did not read the suspect his Miranda rights when the teen surrendered.

Dodd set a hearing date for the suspect May 20 with a trial date for June 4. Prosecutors have not determined whether they'll call for the suspect to be tried as an adult and charge him with what would be a felony-level crime.

The Daily News Journal does not name juvenile criminal suspects except in certain cases when the suspect is charged as an adult with a serious offense.

A mental-health evaluation of the suspect was ordered while he remains in detention, Dodd said.

The student is accused of attacking Aydelott after the two exchanged words when the student tried to turn in an athletic physical record, according to a Rutherford County Sheriff's Office incident report.

The report said the student left Aydelott's office after the two exchanged words but returned shortly after saying that the coach was disrespectful to him.

The student then "pushed the coach while he was seated on a chair, then struck him several times in the face," the report stated.

The report did not state what was said during the original exchange.

Coots said during court that Aydelott suffered a broken jaw, nose and optical eye bone.

Coots received word of the incident from another coach and was running to Aydelott's office with Assistant Principal Stephen Wayne when the suspect came down a hallway and surrendered himself, Coots said.

As he was being taken to Coots' office, the officer said the suspect told Wayne that the coach deserved what happened.

"He told him, 'He got what he had coming to him. I got back," Coots said at the hearing.

Aydelott has not been interviewed by law enforcement officers since the attack occurred other than brief comments made as he was being transported to Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, Coots said.

Aydelott was later transferred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was released Wednesday morning, said Riverdale Principal Tom Nolan.

Nolan added that Aydelott will return to the hospital after swelling goes down.

Aydelott has received an outpouring of support on social media from high school football coaches statewide since the incident occurred.

Aydelott has coached at Riverdale since 2006, reaching the 2009 and 2011 Class 6A state semifinals. He coached at Hillsboro in Nashville for 12 years prior to coming to Murfreesboro, winning the Burros' first state championship in 2003.

During his hearing on Wednesday, the suspect's arrest history that included two prior arrests was detailed. His probation officer said no additional violations or charges occurred in the past year before the alleged attack.

His mother asked the court to release her son back into her custody, but Dodd said the suspect's prior history and the evidence in the case, which included two photographs of Aydelott, was too strong to allow his release.

"I just can't, based on the evidence I have today, make that determination," Dodd said.

The suspect's mother teared up as she left the courtroom after his hearing.

Contact Brian Wilson at 615-278-5165. Follow him on Twitter @brianwilson17. Contact Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168. Follow him on Twitter @Kreager.