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Local father frustrated with son's coach, accused of slashing his tires

Posted at 7:04 PM, Jun 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-14 19:20:04-04

A local father has been charged with malicious destruction of property after police say he slashed 2 tires belonging to his son's basketball coach.

It happened back on March 5th, when Birmingham Seaholm and Troy High played a basketball game in the state district playoffs.  

When the game was over, the coach of Birmingham Seaholm, Mike DeGeeter, went to his car and saw that two tires on his car had been slashed.

DeGeeter notified police, who checked the school’s surveillance video.

Investigators say it was Gary Maudie, the father of one of DeGeeter's players. According to the police report obtained by 7 Action News, Maudie went outside at halftime and slashed the tires.

Maudie and his attorney declined to speak to 7 Action News because the case is in the courts, but according to the police report, Maudie told investigators he was "very upset" and didn't feel like DeGeeter was treating his son fair.

He said "The knife he used was a small knife he carries on his belt for work."

In a written statement to police, Maudie said, "I regret my actions and am truly sorry I did what I did, but I lost my normal composure which is out of my normal character."

Coach DeGeeter told 7 Action News that there had been no prior issues with Maudie all year, but the night of the game, he knew something was off.

He said Maudie had never come to him to have a conversation or set up a meeting to talk.

Troy Police say no matter the circumstances, it's always best to keep calm and have a conversation.