The former Rutgers football player charged in a series of home invasion and armed robberies has cut a deal that calls for 15 year state prison sentence.
Tejay Johnson, 26, of Egg Harbor Township, admitted to his role in the robberies, during which the group stole cash and drugs, sometimes at gunpoint, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said in a release.
Johnson pleaded guilty last week before Superior Court Judge Dennis Nieves to three counts of armed robbery, three counts of armed burglary and three counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, authorities said.
The former Scarlett Knight football player was charged along with 14 other former university players and students in 2015 as part of an investigation into three armed robberies and an assault in New Brunswick in Piscataway.
The case, which included seven Rutgers football players, contributed to the firing of former coach Kyle Flood, as well as the forced resignation of athletic director Julie Hermann.
Johnson rejected the same plea deal last July. Jury selection was scheduled to begin Tuesday in Johnson’s case.
The deal calls for the dismissal of charges connected to an assault on Delafield Street in 2015 over a parking spot, authorities said.
Johnson will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Attorneys sparred for months of the use of Johnson’s cell phone as evidence in the case. The phone allegedly contained a trove of information connecting those charged in the robberies, according to prosecutors.
Nieves ruled in June that the data on Johnson’s cell phone would be admissible at trial.
Andre Boggs, of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and Lloyd Terry Jr., of Wrightstown, both former football players, were also charged in the string of robberies, however, their attorneys last year had asked for delays until Johnson’s case had been resolved.
Kaylanna Ricks, who was accused of being the getaway driver in an unsuccessful robbery, previously rejected a plea deal requiring her to testify in the case against Johnson.
The current statuses of their cases were not immediately available.
Another ex-football player, Jamil C. Pollard, 23, of Woodbury, admitted last year to his role in breaking into a Davidson Hall dorm room on the Busch Campus on Dec. 14, 2014, and swiping marijuana and cash from the student.
Craig McCarthy may be reached at 732-372-2078 or at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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