Former UNLV assistant pled ignorance, case dismissed

This is an older story, but one that bears a post.

Apparently "The Hangover" defense works in court. At least that's what former UNLV assistant football coach Ty Gregorak learned when Colorado prosecutors dismissed his case.

You know "The Hangover" right? It's the movie about four guys who have a crazy night in Vegas and then wake up not knowing what happened. Well, Gregorak lived something similar last May while visiting Boulder, Colo., in a personal trip to his old collegiate stomping grounds.

The story goes a little something like this:

According to Boulder police, Gregorak, a former Colorado football player, tried to get into a strip club on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, but was turned away by bouncer Joseph Benedetto, who determined that Gregorak was too intoxicated to enter the club. So, like any shunned patron, Gregorak went to the nearby parking garage and broke into Benedetto's Nissan Sentra. It's still unknown how Gregorak knew which car belonged to the bouncer.

Gregorak then proceeded to take the bouncer's wallet, a bottle of cologne, some sunglasses and, of course, a loaded .45-caliber Glock 36 handgun.

Then he went back to his hotel room and passed out.

Gregorak told police that he woke up the next morning, saw the stolen stuff, but had no idea how it got there. In fact, Gregorak claimed the whole thing was a setup.

Wait, the story gets better.

Gregorak then decided to go to the bouncer's house early in the morning, knock on the door and return the stolen items.

"I'm sorry," Gregorak was quoted as saying in the police report. "Last night I was really drunk. I'm not from here. I'm in town visiting friends. I don't do these kind of things."

Benedetto and Gregorak parted amicably and Benedetto followed Gregorak to his car where he wrote down the license plate number. He gave the number to the police, which ultimately led to Gregorak's arrest.

In the wake of all of this, Gregorak's contract was not renewed with UNLV and he was let go in June. He did find work as the linebackers coach with the Montana football program, where he had spent seven years with former coach (now UNLV coach) Bobby Hauck.

But at least he's not in jail.

According to Boulder County District spokeswoman Catherine Olguin, prosecutors dropped the charges of trespassing and theft against Gregorak because the case wasn't strong enough for a conviction. Apparently, there wasn't enough to prove the claims beyond a reasonable doubt.

Through it all, Gregorak has maintained "The Hangover" defense.

"I am grateful that this whole ordeal is finally over," Gregorak said in a statement released through his lawyer. "Perhaps someday I will learn what happened to me that night, but as of now, I still do not know. My story has always been consistent and has never changed. This has been a nightmare for me and my family."

Graham Watson is a regular contributor to Dr. Saturday. Follow her on Twitter: @Yahoo_Graham

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