Rutgers basketball player Jacob Young reached a plea deal Monday in his driving while intoxicated case, according to his attorney.
Young was arrested in the early-morning hours Feb. 2 in New Brunswick by Rutgers University police and charged with DWI, reckless driving, failing to signal, disregarding a stop sign and careless driving, according to a RUPD incident report.
Appearing in New Brunswick Municipal Court via a video-conference call Monday, Young’s DWI charge was dropped and he agreed to plead guilty to reckless driving. Young had his New Jersey license privileges suspended for 60 days and agreed to pay a fine of $240.
“Jacob’s accepting his responsibility,’’ James Curran, Young’s Milltown-based attorney, said. “He’s remorseful. He’s a really nice kid and he made a mistake.’’
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A rising senior guard from Houston who was 22-years old at the time of his arrest, Young was suspended for one game for a violation of team rules by Scarlet Knights coach Steve Pikiell after the incident.
Both Young and Pikiell on Monday declined to comment through a Rutgers spokesperson, who said, “The team considers the matter resolved.’’
In February, Pikiell said he was “disappointed’’ upon hearing the news of Young’s arrest.
“When you deal with young adults, they’re capable of making bad decisions. He obviously did,” Pikiell said. “I’m disappointed. I love him. But you’ve got to make great decisions, and young adults sometimes don’t. We’ll move forward, it will be a good learning experience for us and then we’ll move on.”
A key bench player for a Rutgers team that went 20-11 before its season was cut short prior to the Big Ten Tournament because of the coronavirus shutdown, Young averaged 8.5 points per game while 41.3 percent from the field in 30 games as a junior.
Young, who has one season of eligibility remaining after transferring in from the University of Texas two years ago, earned a spot on the Dean’s List after posting a 3.73 grade-point-average this spring, according to a Rutgers spokesperson.
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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com.
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