Court Sentences Slasher

A dentist and his son were sentenced to community service and probation for their roles in a helmet buckle-sharpening incident that left five high school football players with cuts.

The father also received a two-day jail sentence.

Mike Cito, a center on the St. Pius X High School football team, admitted to Children’s Court Judge Michael Martinez that he wore the buckle that caused the injuries to Albuquerque Academy players Oct. 12.

“I wore a helmet with a buckle that had been altered,” the 17-year-old said. “It was sharpened.”

Asked why, the teen told the judge: “It was sharpened to protect me from harm.”

By whom, the judge asked.

“My father,” the boy replied.

He acknowledged under questioning from District Attorney Robert Schwartz that he knew the buckle would cause injury, although he said, “I did not know it would cause serious injury.”

Mike Cito’s sharpened buckle was found after referees stopped the Oct. 12 game and checked players’ equipment.

Cito has been expelled from school and banned from competition until Oct. 12, 1997, by the New Mexico Activities Association, the New Mexico high school governing body.