Jury deliberating in Vegas Strip casino death case

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada jury is deliberating whether a former Florida high school football coach is guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a Utah man he knocked down in a Las Vegas casino with a single punch.

Prosecutors and a lawyer for Benjamin Gerard Hawkins offered differing views Friday during closing arguments about the death of 46-year-old John Massie.

Hawkins is black. Massie was white.

The jury has been told the two men exchanged words in a restroom at O'Shea's Casino before Hawkins punched Massie once in the jaw early July 6, 2011.

Massie's hands were in his pockets when he fell backward. He died after his head hit the floor.

Hawkins says he endured racial taunts and was defending himself from a man he believed was threatening him.