DES MOINES – After former ISU basketball star Hurl Beechum turned himself in to police in Glenwood over the weekend, a friend of his and his family is speaking out.
Beechum is facing felony charges in his involvement in a shooting Sept. 27. Police say a racial slur from passersby sparked a violent fight outside his stepfather’s home in Glenwood. His stepfather, Richard Hutchinson, is the principal at Glenwood High and former high school principal at Urbandale. An affadavit shows Hutchinson was knocked unconscious after repeatedly getting punched in the face. Beechum allegedly went inside to retrieve a gun and shot one of the people involved in the fight in the leg.
Hutchinson is at a hospital awaiting plastic surgery.
“It’s tough to see him like that but I also know there’s no other person that can bounce back the way he will,” said Bill Blank, who recently visited Hutch. “This is a man outside my own immediate family, outside my own parents, is the most directly responsible for the person I am today.”
Blank defended Beechum’s action and said most would’ve done the same thing in his position.
“What would you do if you’re 60-something year old dad was knocked out cold in convulsions?” he asked. “Maybe Hurl’s life wasn’t in danger directly but his dad’s was, and you have to protect your dad in that situation. I think any rational person would do the same thing.”
Beechum’s mother may be hurt by the ordeal the most.
“It’s like a double-whammy for her. Her husband is beaten and battered, her son the same, and still dealing with the aftermath.”
The aftermath includes a pile of medical bills for Hutch, and legal fees for Beechum. Blank is organizing a comedy show to raise money for the family.
“There’s a lot of injustice happening here and I hope justice is served for them when it all shakes out,” he said.
For more information on the comedy show, click here. A GoFundMe account has also been set up for Hutch.
