Moore High basketball coach Richard Gatewood arrested, charged with strangulation of minor
A Jefferson County Public Schools basketball coach was arrested following an incident that took place at Moore High School on Tuesday.
Moore boys basketball coach Richard Gatewood was arrested on Wednesday, according to a citation. The 38-year-old was charged with assault and strangulation, both in the 2nd degree, which are felonies. The victim is listed as a male that is a minor, online court records show.
Gatewood was booked in the Louisville jail and has since been released.
On Tuesday, Gatewood was involved in a verbal argument with a minor, who is a student at Moore Middle School. During the argument, the situation reportedly became violent. Gatewood grabbed the minor and slammed him down on the bleachers and placed him in a choke hold, according to court documents.
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The mother of the minor took photos of the victim, according to the court documents, that showed redness and bruising on his chest and body and a large cut on his hand following the incident.
A district official in charge of investigations was listed as the complaining witness. Gatewood, who pleaded not guilty on Thursday morning, previously admitted to police on Wednesday that he struck and slammed the minor, per court records. His bond was set at $15,000. During Thursday's arraignment, the judge ordered Gatewood to have no contact with the victim or complaining witness. He was also directed to stay away from Moore unless JCPS "directs otherwise."
He is scheduled to appear in Jefferson District Court on Feb. 17.
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Gatewood and his attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Moore athletic director Tim Gentry said Pat McGee will serve as Moore's interim coach. McGee is a Moore graduate and had been serving as the program's junior-varsity head coach.
Gatewood is in the first season of his second stint as Moore's head coach. The Mustangs are 10-16 following Tuesday's 68-64 loss to Jeffersontown.
Gatewood is a 2003 graduate of Western High School, where he played basketball and golf. After serving as an assistant at Western, Butler, Jeffersontown and Moore, he was named the head coach at Moore during the 2012-13 season. The Mustangs went 23-8, and Gatewood was named Sixth Region Coach of the Year.
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He left Moore after one season for Taylor County, where he compiled an 80-20 record over three seasons (2013-16) and led the Cardinals to back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16.
Gatewood then headed to 22 Feet Academy in Anderson, S.C., and compiled a 29-9 record during the 2016-17 season. Gatewood and his family moved back to Louisville after one season at 22 Feet.
He was the head coach at Louisville's Aspire Academy during the 2019-20 season and then spent two years coaching his children with the Louisville Legends program before being named Moore's head coach in March of last year.
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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Jefferson County Public Schools: Moore HS basketball coach arrested
