Chilton coach sentenced to probation for hitting wife

June 4, 2004
(Waco-AP) -- A Central Texas high school football coach will stay on the job, despite being sentenced for assaulting his wife last year.

That's the word from Falls County school officials about Lucky Gamble. The 53-year-old Chilton High School coach and athletic director pleaded no contest yesterday to assault-family violence.

McLennan County Court-at-Law Judge Tom Ragland placed Gamble on deferred probation for 18 months and fined him $300. He also ordered Gamble to enroll in an anger management program.

In deferred cases, no final judgment of guilt is entered if the defendant completes probation. According to court records, Gamble shoved his wife into the bathtub, grabbed her neck and choked her during a May 2003 argument at their Waco-area home.

Gamble's attorney told the judge the incident started when Gamble's wife hit him in the head with a picture frame while he slept.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)