Court hearing rescheduled for former Cape teacher

A court appearance has been rescheduled for a former Cape Girardeau teacher accused of a January assault on a student in a downtown parking lot.

Roman D. Smith, 32, will appear before Judge Michael Bullerdieck for a pretrial conference at 1:30 p.m. June 20 at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson. The appearance was originally scheduled for today.

Smith's jury trial is still scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 29 at the Jackson courthouse.

Smith is charged with third-degree misdemeanor assault stemming from a Jan. 21 incident where he and a student got into a "play fight" that ended with Smith allegedly placing the student in a choke hold, causing him to lose consciousness. Smith resigned from his position as a science teacher at the high school in February.

Through a statement from his lawyer, Smith has said he didn't break the law on the night of the incident, and his resignation wasn't an admission of guilt.

Pertinent address:

100 Court St., Jackson, MO