LOGAN — A former Utah State football player has pleaded guilty for his involvement in the electronics burglary case involving four other players. Jaylan Brown was arrested and charged in April with burglary, a second-degree felony, tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony and misdemeanor theft.
Police arrested Brown and Troy Murray, after a video game console and several games were stolen from a Logan apartment complex in December 2016. The equipment was discovered at a pawn shop in Salt Lake City, where the two 19-year-old men had sold the items for cash.
Jamarcus Ingram, Dayshawn Littleton and Kevin Meiztenheimer were arrested later, accused of trying to hit the witnesses with their car and threatening to return and shoot the victim. The three 19-year-olds were allegedly trying to prevent charges from being filed against Brown and Murray.
Brown appeared in 1st District Court Tuesday afternoon. He accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to charges of trespassing, theft and attempted tampering with a witness, all misdemeanors.
Brown’s attorney, Earl Xaiz told the court Brown had no criminal history prior to coming to Utah State. He explained that his client got involved with the wrong crowd, after moving to Logan on a football scholarship.
Xaiz said Brown was kicked off the team after his arrest and moved back to California. He enrolled in a community college and has maintained a 3.6 GPA. He also apologized to the team for his actions.
Judge Kevin Allen said stealing the electronics was a minor issue but it became a bigger problem when Brown asked the other teammates to threaten the victim. He ordered him to serve one-year of probation and complete 50-hours of community service.
Murray, Ingram, Littleton and Meiztenheimer have already accepted similar plea deals and were sentenced.
will@cvradio.com