RICHMOND, Texas (AP) — A Texas grand jury has declined to indict former NBA guard Patrick Beverley after he was arrested last year on an accusation that he had assaulted his sister.
Authorities in Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston, had arrested Beverley in November after his sister told investigators he grabbed her by the neck, slammed her against a wall and punched her in the face, according to court records.
The grand jury on Monday declined to indict Beverley on one count of assault of a family member. Beverley had been free on a $40,000 bond.
Beverley’s sister had told authorities the alleged assault happened after she sneaked out of her mother’s home to see her boyfriend.
Shortly after his arrest, Beverley had posted an unsigned statement on X saying he had unexpectedly found his sister, a minor, alone with an 18-year-old man.
Beverley’s attorneys, Rusty Hardin and Letitia Quinones-Hollins, said in a statement that Beverley "would never do anything to harm his sister and that he is very grateful that the grand jury has recognized that.”
After the grand jury’s decision, Beverley said in a post on X that he was “deeply grateful for all thoughts and prayers for the family” and “we must continue to protect our children, especially our young girls.”
Beverley played for 12 seasons in the NBA, starting his career with the Houston Rockets. He last played for the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2023-24 season.
FILE - Milwaukee Bucks' Patrick Beverley during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball series against the Indiana Pacers April 30, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge on Tuesday declined to disqualify the local county attorney’s office from prosecuting the accused shooter in Charlie Kirk's killing after the defense argued there was a conflict of interest because a prosecutor's daughter was present when Kirk was shot.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Tyler Robinson, 22, who is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of the conservative activist on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.
Robinson’s attorneys urged the judge to remove the Utah County Attorney’s Office because they allowed a deputy county attorney to work on the case despite knowing that his adult daughter was in the audience when Kirk was shot.
The defense also argued in court documents that prosecutors were quick to announce their intent to seek the death penalty, which they said was evidence of “strong emotional reactions” that merited disqualifying the entire team.
State District Judge Tony Graf ruled Tuesday that there is “not a significant risk” that Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander's loyalty to his daughter will affect his work or interfere with Robinson's rights.
An estimated 3,000 people were at the outdoor rally to hear Kirk when he was struck while taking questions. A co-founder of Turning Point USA, Kirk helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump.
Grunander’s daughter, whose identity has not been disclosed to news media covering the case, testified in court that she did not record video of the shooting or the aftermath. She was looking at the crowd and did not learn until after she ran to safety that it was Kirk who had been shot, she told the court earlier this month.
Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray testified this month that he thought about seeking the death penalty before an arrest had been made in the case, and his colleague’s daughter in no way influenced the decision.
Graf found that the daughter's presence did not factor into Gray's decision.
The director of a state council that trains prosecutors said Graf’s ruling was appropriate given the circumstances.
“Chad Grunander’s daughter is not going to be a witness. She didn’t actually see Mr. Kirk killed. She was facing away,” Utah Prosecution Council Director Robert Church said.
The judge has been weighing other issues of fairness for Robinson, should he go to trial.
Full video recordings of Kirk’s shooting have not been shown in court after defense attorneys objected out of concern that the footage would undermine Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
Defense attorneys also seek to keep TV cameras and photographers out of the courtroom, arguing that “highly biased” news outlets risk tainting the case. Prosecutors, attorneys for news organizations and Kirk’s widow have urged Graf to keep the proceedings open.
The defense request to exclude cameras was classified by the court as private and has not been released.
On Monday, Graf granted a request from a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press to allow attorneys for the media to view defense requests to classify documents in the case. Graf said without access to those motions, media attorneys could not meaningfully argue against closing parts of the case from public view.
Associated Press writers Mead Gruver in Fort Collins, Colorado; and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed.
FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
FILE - Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf speaks during a waiver hearing for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, in Utah County Court in Provo, Utah, Sept. 29, 2025. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP, Pool, File)
FILE - Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander appears on the witness stand during a hearing for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk, in 4th District Court, Feb. 3, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
