A Hamilton High basketball coach assaulted during a basketball game in December has experienced more troubles this winter after her home was robbed and vandalized early this week.
Sue Verner, the head coach of the Hamilton High girls basketball team, was punched by a parent after an altercation after a game on December 10, and was later treated and released for her injuries. The parent, Heather Thompson, turned herself in and faces charges for simple assault on a school official.
One of Verner’s homes that she was renovating for her mother was found to have been broken into and spray painted with green graffiti at around noon on Monday, according to Capt. Brandon Davis, chief investigator with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. Verner had not been to the home since Friday.
“She was in the process of remodeling the home, and someone came in over the weekend and busted all the windows,” Davis said, adding entry was made through the back door of the property.
Davis said the department is connecting the crime to another robbery and vandalism incident that happened Saturday at the home Steven Sims, an assistant coach for the Hamilton High girls basketball team.
Sims returned home to find his home ransacked and many expensive items missing, according to Davis. These items included: two large flat-screen televisions; a state championship ring that Sims wife received as a cheer leading coach; three sets of wedding rings; a Sony Playstation 3; three laptops; and a .223-caliber rifle.
“We feel like it was someone in the area who knew both,” Davis said, adding he has a list of possible suspects from Verner, as well as fingerprints found at the crime scenes.
Both Verner and Sims live in the Valley Chapel community.
Sam Luvisi is news editor and covers education for The Dispatch.
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