Coach accused of firing gun in Kingsessing gym surrenders

A Delaware County man accused of firing a gun Saturday during a neighborhood basketball game has surrendered to police.

The District Attorney's Office issued a warrant for the arrest of Maurice Tavares, 26, after he allegedly shot his .40 caliber handgun inside a rec center in Kingsesssing, police said.

But to hear his lawyer, Eugene Tinari, tell it, Tavares was acting in "self-defense," fearful of the actions of an angry crowd.

"It's a regrettable situation," Tinari said of Saturday's incident. "but he was just trying to get out of there without getting harmed."

About 4 p.m. today, Tavares and Tinari met with investigators from the Southwest Detectives Unit.

Tavares will be charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and related offenses, police said.

The charges stem from an incident Saturday inside the Christy Recreation Center, on 55th Street near Whitby Avenue.

Tavares, a Chester resident, was coaching a team of 14- to 16-year-olds in a neighborhood rec league. He was winning, up by 11 points in the second half, but the opposing team was rallying, making a comeback, according to Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives.

As the game heated up, the people in the crowd, about 70 spectators, became agitated. Tensions rose, and Tavares allegedly got into an argument with some of the people in the bleachers.

The opposing coach walked over to try to intervene in the argument, Walker said. Tavares told the other coach to go back to the sideline, which he did begrudgingly.

As the other man walked away, Tavares allegedly pulled a handgun from his waistband — which Walker said he is permitted to carry— and fired a single shot upward. It flew over the heads of the people in the crowd and shattered a window in the rec center.

The placement of that shot was no accident, according to Tinari.

He said his client acted out of desperation: A group of about 15-20 spectators had "cornered him," Tinari said, backing him up against a wall while making threats. Some, he said, implied they were carrying guns of their own.

"In his state of mind, he had to do something to get them off of him," Tinari said. "The law allows you to use force if you believe your life is in danger, or if you're in imminent danger of being injured, and that's what happened here, plain and simple."

So, not wanting to harm anyone, he pointed the gun away from the crowd, toward the ceiling, Tamari said.

After firing the shot, Tavares fled the scene. No one was injured in the incident.

When the warrant was issued for Tavares' arrest, investigators contacted Tinari and made the arrangements for his surrender.

Tinari said his client, a father of three who works at a day care center, has a passion for coaching youth basketball. He sought a carry permit after an earlier incident, when he was shot in the leg during a basketball game. Since that injury, for which he still takes medication, Tavares always carries his gun with him, according to Tinari.

"This is a good man, a law-abiding individual," Tinari said. "They don't hand out gun licenses to people of ill repute."