Now, from the "It Don't Get No Better'n This" files and Press-Citizen.com...

Sudiegirl sez: This merited a blog entry all of its own, you know? I really get angry when I hear about someone with a little bit of fame abusing it like he has...between the e-Bay tricks, the Airliner stuff and what he did to Ms. Gonder, I'm not impressed at this point. And the photograph they ran of him (see left) isn't very flattering. I mean, he's a 40 year old man wearing his ball cap backwards...apparently he's worried about getting his neck sunburnt? And does he or does he not bear a passing resemblance to Ron Perlman, who played "Hellboy"? The photos have been placed next to each other for further study. In the meantime, here's the article with the usual Sudiegirl flair attached...


Lohaus pleads not guilty

By Pat Harty
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Former Iowa basketball player and retired NBA veteran Brad Lohaus pleaded not guilty to a domestic assault charge Tuesday in Polk County. (Oh my...and Polk County isn't really "Hawkeye Country" so I don't imagine the sympathies will be strong there.)

Lohaus, 40, was charged with simple domestic assault upon McKinsey S. Gonder. The incident allegedly occurred during the early morning hours of July 14 at the Courtyard Inn in Clive.

A trail date has been set for October. (BTW, the typo is the Press-Citizen's, not mine. I didn't want to get in trouble for altering the original text, so I left it to show that everyone needs to check their spelling.)

Lohaus met the requirements to be charged under Iowa law because he and Gonder have a child together.

Gonder, 23, reportedly received minor injuries to her lip and head, but medical treatment was not required. (Never mind all the emotional trauma coming from being smacked around by someone that much bigger than you are...I think ol' Brad should pay for her counseling so she can get on with her life and find a nice guy to settle down with instead of old "riding on the coat-tails of nearly 20 year old success" Lohaus.)

Meanwhile, Lohaus also faces felony second-degree theft charge for allegedly stealing just less than $2,000 from fraudulent e-bay auctions.

Johnson County court records show there are 12 witnesses in the theft case. (I'll ask before and I'll ask again...how do they get witnesses off of e-Bay? Is it e-Bay employees, Pay Pal employees, who? Don't leave me hangin'...)

His trial for the theft charge is schedule to begin Monday. However, Lohaus' lawyer, Leon Spies, said the trial could be delayed because a different prosecutor is now handling the case.
Lohaus, who couldn't be reached for comment, played at Iowa from 1982-87. (Again, what is up with Lohaus not being reached for comment? Is he hiding out somewhere at the Field House, or with Lute Olsen in Arizona? How about George Raveling...what does he have to say about this?)

He then played in the NBA for more than a decade and with eight different teams before retiring in the late 1990s. (OK, this is a sign of my ignorance of the sport of pro basketball...is it normal to play for eight different ball teams with the NBA in "more than a decade"? Or were they just sick of his attitude and shipped him off somewhere?)

He has lived in Iowa City since retiring from the NBA. He co-owned the Airliner restaurant from 1993 to 2001. (Other than their chicken and pineapple deep-dish pizza, I can't say I am impressed. Sorry...)

Sudiegirl's final opinion?

Brad, ya should have joined the marching band instead. This kind of s**t happens far less often to UI Marching Band alumni. I'm not one of 'em, but you've got the athletic prowess to be able to run around in a hot uniform while wearing a sousaphone, right? Yet another testament of why you should not neglect music education, folks...don't let your kids turn out like Brad.

Sudiegirl the advocate

Update! UPDATE on Brad Lohaus' tussle with the law...

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Lohaus receives deferred judgment
By Iowa City Press-Citizen

The attorney for former Iowa basketball player and former Airliner co-owner Brad Lohaus said Friday that his client would receive a deferred judgment on second-degree theft charges.

Leon Spies told the Press-Citizen that the judge and prosecutor both accepted Spies' recommendation that Lohaus receive a deferred judgment.

Spies said Lohaus, 41, likely would receive some form of probation as opposed to jail time.
A deferred judgment means that if Lohaus fulfills the terms of his probation, pays any fines and otherwise stays out of legal trouble, the charges will be dropped from his permanent record.

Lohaus, who played at Iowa from 1982-87 before spending 11 years in the NBA, was accused of taking payment for a fly rod he put up for auction on eBay, but then never shipping the item to the winning bidder.

He pleaded guilty to the theft charge in December.

Lohaus also received a deferred judgment and one year's probation for pleading guilty to assaulting his girlfriend in a hotel in Clive last summer.

Lohaus did not appear at his Friday sentencing and was unavailable for comment.

SUDIEGIRL'S FINAL COMMENT?

What a yutz. I hope the girlfriend dumped him, and I hope he learned from all this...but if I know the way life works like I THINK I do, he hasn't. Oh well...wonder what the wunderkind will do next? Only time will tell.