A few days after University of Utah assistant football coach Don Eck walked from a Taylorsville-Bennion Wal-Mart with sports cards and perfume he hadn't paid for, he insisted he didn't steal anything and called the incident an "accident, a big accident."
Prosecutors apparently agreed and dropped a shoplifting charge Tuesday against Eck, who directs the U.'s offensive linemen.The case was dismissed because there was no evidence the coach was guilty of anything more than absent-mindedness, said defense attorney Ed Brass. "(Eck) walked out of the store in full view of store employees, realized what he had done and returned to the store," he said.
Eck said he expected the prosecutor's decision, adding "The (citation) should have never happened in the first place, but it did."
He was cited for retail theft on Dec. 10 after an employee saw him leave the store (5469 S. Redwood Rd.) with a shopping basket stuffed with more than $400 worth of baseball and football cards and a $50 bottle of Eternity perfume.
One man in plain clothes and a Wal-Mart employee followed Eck into the parking lot. They told investigators that when Eck got about 45 feet from the building, he looked over his shoulder, saw the men and said "Oh, I (messed) up," according to the police report.
Eck then walked back in the store and asked a Wal-Mart greeter to hold the cards and perfume while he went to his car to get his wallet, the report said.
The coach's name was noticeably absent from the Salt Lake County sheriff's report, which was written by deputy Barry Dalton. Sheriff's officials don't know why Eck's name was not included in the reports - which are public information - but add there was no intent to hide anything.
Eck is preparing for his third season as the U.'s offensive line coach but also held that position from 1987 to 1989. In 1990, Eck was an offensive line coach at the University of Arizona. From 1991 to 1993, he was assistant head coach at James Madison University. He played football at the U. from 1980 to 1982.