5 charged in youth game brawl; man later died of heart event
Five adults have been charged with assault over a brawl that broke out at a middle school basketball game earlier this year, according to Vermont state police
ALBURGH, Vt. — Five adults have been charged with assault over a brawl that broke out at a middle school basketball game earlier this year, Vermont state police said, but they will not be charged in the death of a person involved in the fight, who later had an acute cardiac event .
Police viewed several videos of the Jan. 31 boys basketball game. They found that a verbal argument between Alburgh and Albans City School supporter groups escalated into a court brawl.
Police said Friday they “found no evidence to support a criminal charge in connection with the death of 60-year-old Russell Giroux, who died at the Alburgh Community Education Center more than two hours after the altercation.
The coroner determined last month that Giroux’s cause of death was an “acute cardiac event following a altercation in a person with atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries”. The manner of death is listed as “undetermined”.
The five, aged between 24 and 43, face charges on May 11. It was not immediately known if they had lawyers.
After the brawl, school officials announced that spectators would not be allowed to attend home basketball games at Alburgh Middle School for the remainder of the season.
Alburgh is a town of approximately 2,100 people in northwest Vermont. It is surrounded on three sides by Lake Champlain, and the northern portion of the community forms part of the border with Canada.
