April 29, 2002

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) - After nearly four hours of deliberations that included telling a judge they were deadlocked at one point, jurors late Tuesday night acquitted two Penn State football players of all charges in an assault trial.

Thurgood "T.C." Cosby, 19, and Robert "R.J." Luke, 22, jumped to their feet and were hugged by family members and teammates after the verdict.

Cosby and Luke had been accused of throwing another man through a window at an off-campus fraternity house last summer.

Jude Sandt, 23, said he was hit, then picked up and thrown headfirst through the window. The tendons in his hands were severed, preventing him from moving his fingers individually.

Luke and Cosby said they were relieved to have this behind them, the Centre Daily Times reported. Each had been charged with felony aggravated assault and lesser charges of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

"I feel happy that I finally got to get up there to tell my half of the story," Luke said. "I just have great relief right now. I don't even know how to explain it. It feels like we just won the national championship."

Centre County Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane and Sandt left the courthouse before they could be asked for their reactions to the verdict.

Cosby testified Tuesday that a "melee" broke out near the fraternity house's door when he and eight to 10 other players attempted to get into the party before other people in line.

"It got crazy," Cosby said, saying an unknown man swung at him. "I swung back out of instinct. ... I think I landed the punch."

Cosby testified that before he left, he looked up and saw a man lodged inside the 12-inch-wide window.

"It appeared to be the same kid I hit. I'm not sure," Cosby testified. "I didn't see anyone throw him through the window."

Jurors began deliberations Tuesday afternoon after closing arguments. At 9:30 p.m., they returned to the courtroom and said they were hopelessly deadlocked, but Judge David E. Grine ordered them to continue deliberating.

On Monday, Sandt, who played clarinet and piano before the attack, testified he was certain that Cosby and Luke were the men who attacked him.

Cosby and Luke could have been sentenced to four to eight years in prison if convicted of aggravated assault.