OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – A 21-year-old charged with assaulting an 80-year-old man at a gym locker room in 2024 was found guilty by a jury.
Malik Smith, a 21-year-old Farmington Hills man, got into a fight with an 80-year-old man around 10:45 a.m. March 1, 2024, in the locker room of the Farmington Family YMCA.
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Prosecutors said Smith and the 80-year-old exchanged words in the locker room and then got into a physical fight.
Former University of Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards was also at the YMCA, and he said he heard the fight and went to see what was going on.
“I walk into the locker room after work, and basically, I hear -- about four rows behind me -- arguing about music and how it was being played too loud,” Edwards said. “So, I’m not paying attention, and I was just minding my business.”
“The noise escalates, and then you can hear some pushing and shoving, so you know what fighting sounds like, but once I hear a thud, that’s when I got up and turned around.”
“I see the guy ... (he) grabs the back of the victim’s head by the hair, and he was about to slam it down on the counter.”
Edwards pulled Smith away from the 80-year-old.
“The victim was left unconscious and bleeding, and he had to be hospitalized after this assault,” said Prosecutor McDonald. “When we first brought charges, I said this was a vicious, senseless attack and clearly the jury agreed after looking at the evidence. Their verdict will hopefully provide the victim a measure of justice.”
Smith faces up to ten years in prison. He is expected to be sentenced on May 20, 2025.
