Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith appeared in court Wednesday afternoon after being charged with criminal trespassing, stemming from an incident in mid-May, according to a Delaware Municipal Court record.
According to an arrest record obtained by Eleven Warriors, police were dispatched to the home of Courtney Carano Smith, Zach Smith's ex-wife, around 8 p.m. on May 12. The report indicates that there was no forced entry and no suspected use of alcohol or drugs. Smith was charged with criminal trespassing, and has since pleaded not guilty.
According to the criminal complaint also obtained by Eleven Warriors, "Mr. Smith took his son to his ex-wife's residence (redacted) to drop him off after being instructed by Ms. Smith not to come to her residence and disregarding a previous criminal trespass warning that had been given to him by Detective Pentz on Dec. 19, 2017 at 2 p.m. The incident was witnessed by Ms. Smith and their son along with photographs of Mr. Smith's vehicle being present in her driveway. Mr. Smith also admitted to Sgt. Roach that he was present on Ms. Smith's property and acknowledged receipt of the trespass warning given to him by Detective Pentz."
Per the criminal complaint, criminal trespassing is a fourth-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or a $250 fine.
Ohio State has not commented on the situation.
While an arrest report was filed, Smith's attorney Brad Koffel said Wednesday during an interview on 610 WTVN Radio that his client was not taken into custody.
"Zach and his ex-wife have been divorced for a couple years. They have two kids as a result of this marriage. And as many divorced families, they have a joint plan for shared parenting," Koffel said. "This was a Saturday evening in May, and Zach was returning their 13-year-old son (Smith's son is actually 8 years old) to his ex-wife, which had previously been agreed upon. He dropped the son off at her apartment, and she was waiting for him with her cell phone out and took a picture of him in her driveway, and he left, and then she called the Powell Police and said it was trespassing.
"A criminal complaint was filed against Zach," Koffel continued. "He was never arrested. He went to Powell PD and picked up the criminal trespass complaint. At no point did he ever violate the shared parenting plan, and we entered a not guilty on June 5."
Smith is the lone remaining holdover from Urban Meyer's original staff at Ohio State. He has been the Buckeyes' wide receiver coach since 2012. Prior to his time in Columbus, Smith spent time at the University of Florida from 2005-2009 as both a quality control coach and graduate assistant. He spent the 2010 season coaching wide receivers at Marshall and the 2011 campaign coaching wide receivers and special teams at Temple.
Smith is also the grandson of former Ohio State head coach Earle Bruce.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
