The long, strange saga of former Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle continues. Randle was reportedly charged this week with assaulting a fellow inmate at Sedgwick County Jail in Wichita, Kansas.
Per the Wichita Eagle, Randle was charged with one count of aggravated battery and one count of disorderly conduct stemming from the following events:
The victim in the battery case is 32-year-old Derrick D. Cottner, District Judge Jeff Goering told Randle, who appeared via a video link that broadcasts from a room in the jail into the courtroom.
"The state is charging me for running from somebody?" Randle asked after Goering announced the charges and that the case carried a $7,500 bond.
"The state is charging you with aggravated battery and disorderly conduct," Goering said.
"For getting punched in the face," Randle said, his voice trailing off.
"I don't know what the facts of the case are, sir," Goering replied. "I'm just here to tell you what you're being charged with, what your court date is and what your bond is."
Later, Randle told the judge that the other inmate involved in the alleged assault "seemed frustrated" that a court hearing had been moved to a different date, and "he punched me in the face. I defended myself. I ran in my room." Inmates are "getting antsy" over postponements, he added.
"Well, saying it and proving it are two different things, Mr. Randle," Goering replied. "The state has the burden to prove these charges against you, and they may not be able to prove these charges against you. I don't know."
Randle remained in jail on Wednesday, according to online jail booking records. Including the amount in the new case, his bonds now total $59,000.
The charges are the fifth set against Randle in what has become a string of legal run-ins over the past two years. He is currently awaiting trials on the other four cases, which range from threatening a jail deputy to running people over in his car.
