Christoffer Collins
The former coach of the Chattanooga Preparatory School basketball team was led away on Tuesday morning to begin serving a 30-day jail sentence in a domestic assault case.
After that, Christoffer Collins, 41, will be under judicial diversion for four years. If he gets in no further trouble, the charge will be wiped from the record.
The District Attorney's Office had opposed diversion for Cooper, who otherwise would have faced a sentence of 3-6 years in state prison.
Judge Barry Steelman said the video of an attack on his wife on Aug. 7, 2023, was "very disturbing." He noted that it happened at a very public place near Hamilton Place Mall and that Collins had sped away from the scene.
The judge said the video showed that the wife of Collins pushed him, then he inflicted a blow to her face. He then grabbed her by the hair and was repeatedly striking her, the judge said.
He said a woman driving an SUV pulled over and heard Collins say, while reaching for his waistband, "I've got something for you." He said the woman did not actually see Collins with a gun, but a police office pointed out one place in the video where the gun could be seen.
Judge Steelman said numerous family and friends of Collins said the incident was "shockingly out of character." He said Collins showed remorse.
He said Collins had no prior record, and he said an evaluation found he was a low risk to re-offend.
Judge Steelman also directed that Collins attend anger management courses and marital counseling and go to defensive driving school. Attorney Bill Speek said Collins went into counseling soon after the incident.
He is not to be around any guns.
Collins, a UTC graduate, is a former public school teacher of the year and coach of the year, it was noted.
He currently operates a basketball training school. His website says he has trained 10 McDonald's All Americans and helped numerous athletes get college scholarships.