Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown will serve two years of probation, attend a 13-week anger management program and undergo a psychological exam as part of a plea deal relating to a January incident at Brown’s Hollywood home involving a moving company truck driver.

On Friday, Brown changed his plea to no contest on charges of burglary with battery, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and criminal mischief, which means he will accept the sentence but did not admit guilt.

The order issued by Broward Judge Edward Merrigan Jr. also requires Brown to complete 100 hours of community service and restrict his travel to within the United States for work purposes. Merrigan withheld adjudication, meaning Brown will not be convicted of a crime.

On Jan. 21, the driver of a moving truck arrived at Brown’s Hollywood home to deliver his household goods from California.

Soon after, the driver called police to report a vandalism, saying Brown threw a rock at his truck. The driver told police that Brown paid the $4,000 he owed for moving, but refused to pay $860 for the damage and his time, according to the police report. The driver also told police that Brown grabbed him and pulled him during the struggle.

Recently released dashcam video of the tussle in the cab of the moving company truck showed the reflection of Brown entering the cab and shouting at the driver. Then the video showed what appeared to be a tussle.

Glenn Holt, Brown’s trainer, was arrested on Jan. 21 and charged with one count of burglary with battery.

Brown, who grew up in Liberty City and graduated from Miami Norland Senior High, refused to speak to officers and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The next day Brown turned himself in. He had been out on a $110,000 bond since January 24. He originally pleaded not guilty to all charges.

“Rather than engage in a protracted legal case, Antonio decided to resolve this matter in an expeditious manner,” his attorneys said in a news release Friday.

In recent months, Brown, who was traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders after a 2019 off-season and then released before the season began, has been in the spotlight. He was picked up by the New England Patriots, but was cut after only playing one game. A former trainer filed a lawsuit alleging sexual assault.

Then eight days before the moving company truck incident, Hollywood police were called to Brown’s home after an altercation involving Brown’s ex-girlfriend, Chelsie Kyriss. Brown was not arrested, but police say Brown waved penis-shaped gummy candies at officers while calling them “a bag of d—-.”

Alana Burstyn, an adviser for Antonio, said in a statement Friday that “with this matter now resolved, Antonio looks forward to continuing his cooperation with the NFL and resuming his professional career.”

Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown will serve two years of probation, attend a 13-week anger management program and undergo a psychological exam as part of a plea deal relating to a January incident at Brown’s Hollywood home involving a moving company truck driver.

On Friday, Brown changed his plea to no contest on charges of burglary with battery, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and criminal mischief, which means he will accept the sentence but did not admit guilt.

The order issued by Broward Judge Edward Merrigan Jr. also requires Brown to complete 100 hours of community service and restrict his travel to within the United States for work purposes. Merrigan withheld adjudication, meaning Brown will not be convicted of a crime.

On Jan. 21, the driver of a moving truck arrived at Brown’s Hollywood home to deliver his household goods from California.

Soon after, the driver called police to report a vandalism, saying Brown threw a rock at his truck. The driver told police that Brown paid the $4,000 he owed for moving, but refused to pay $860 for the damage and his time, according to the police report. The driver also told police that Brown grabbed him and pulled him during the struggle.

Recently released dashcam video of the tussle in the cab of the moving company truck showed the reflection of Brown entering the cab and shouting at the driver. Then the video showed what appeared to be a tussle.

Glenn Holt, Brown’s trainer, was arrested on Jan. 21 and charged with one count of burglary with battery.

Brown, who grew up in Liberty City and graduated from Miami Norland Senior High, refused to speak to officers and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The next day Brown turned himself in. He had been out on a $110,000 bond since January 24. He originally pleaded not guilty to all charges.

“Rather than engage in a protracted legal case, Antonio decided to resolve this matter in an expeditious manner,” his attorneys said in a news release Friday.

In recent months, Brown, who was traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders after a 2019 off-season and then released before the season began, has been in the spotlight. He was picked up by the New England Patriots, but was cut after only playing one game. A former trainer filed a lawsuit alleging sexual assault.

Then eight days before the moving company truck incident, Hollywood police were called to Brown’s home after an altercation involving Brown’s ex-girlfriend, Chelsie Kyriss. Brown was not arrested, but police say Brown waved penis-shaped gummy candies at officers while calling them “a bag of d—-.”

Alana Burstyn, an adviser for Antonio, said in a statement Friday that “with this matter now resolved, Antonio looks forward to continuing his cooperation with the NFL and resuming his professional career.”

Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown will serve two years of probation, attend a 13-week anger management program and undergo a psychological exam as part of a plea deal relating to a January incident at Brown’s Hollywood home involving a moving company truck driver.

On Friday, Brown changed his plea to no contest on charges of burglary with battery, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and criminal mischief, which means he will accept the sentence but did not admit guilt.

The order issued by Broward Judge Edward Merrigan Jr. also requires Brown to complete 100 hours of community service and restrict his travel to within the United States for work purposes. Merrigan withheld adjudication, meaning Brown will not be convicted of a crime.

On Jan. 21, the driver of a moving truck arrived at Brown’s Hollywood home to deliver his household goods from California.

Soon after, the driver called police to report a vandalism, saying Brown threw a rock at his truck. The driver told police that Brown paid the $4,000 he owed for moving, but refused to pay $860 for the damage and his time, according to the police report. The driver also told police that Brown grabbed him and pulled him during the struggle.

Recently released dashcam video of the tussle in the cab of the moving company truck showed the reflection of Brown entering the cab and shouting at the driver. Then the video showed what appeared to be a tussle.

Glenn Holt, Brown’s trainer, was arrested on Jan. 21 and charged with one count of burglary with battery.

Brown, who grew up in Liberty City and graduated from Miami Norland Senior High, refused to speak to officers and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The next day Brown turned himself in. He had been out on a $110,000 bond since January 24. He originally pleaded not guilty to all charges.

“Rather than engage in a protracted legal case, Antonio decided to resolve this matter in an expeditious manner,” his attorneys said in a news release Friday.

In recent months, Brown, who was traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders after a 2019 off-season and then released before the season began, has been in the spotlight. He was picked up by the New England Patriots, but was cut after only playing one game. A former trainer filed a lawsuit alleging sexual assault.

Then eight days before the moving company truck incident, Hollywood police were called to Brown’s home after an altercation involving Brown’s ex-girlfriend, Chelsie Kyriss. Brown was not arrested, but police say Brown waved penis-shaped gummy candies at officers while calling them “a bag of d—-.”

Brown, who grew up in Liberty City and graduated from Miami Norland Senior High, was traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders after a 2019 off-season.

Alana Burstyn, an advisor for Antonio, said in a statement Friday that “with this matter now resolved, Antonio looks forward to continuing his cooperation with the NFL and resuming his professional career.”

A multi-vehicle crash in Jozini left several dead, and many injured.

• KZN Transport MEC Bheki Ntuli is appalled to hear that alcohol was allegedly involved in a horror crash in Jozini in which eight died.
• A 48-year-old truck driver will face charges of drunk driving and culpable homicide.
• Ntuli was alarmed by the increase of car crashes on the road in the province since 1 June.

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KwaZulu-Natal Transport MEC Bheki Ntuli says he is appalled after hearing that the driver of a truck involved in a horror crash in Jozini, in which eight people died and 32 were injured, was allegedly intoxicated.

The driver is to be charged with drunk driving and culpable homicide. 

Paramedic reports on Wednesday indicated the truck driver had apparently lost control of the truck, crashing into pedestrians and at least nine vehicles.

Police have now confirmed that the 48-year-old man had traces of alcohol in his blood. 

“A 48-year-old suspect is due to appear tomorrow (Friday) in the Ubombo Magistrate’s Court on charges of drunken driving and culpable homicide”, police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said. 

On Wednesday, Ntuli visited the accident scene where police briefed him and he examined the crash wreckage as part of a fact-finding mission into what transpired. 

READ | 8 dead, 32 injured, after truck crashes into pedestrians, 9 vehicles in KZN

“I was appalled when I learnt that the truck driver is suspected to have been driving under the influence of alcohol, which could be the cause of this ghastly accident that resulted in eight fatalities,” said Ntuli. 

“Alcohol has contributed immensely to bad driver behaviour which leads to traffic violations, road crashes and the increasing road death toll”.

“The blatant disregard for the rules of the road is to blame for the deaths of many breadwinners on our roads, which is a huge cost to the economy”, added Ntuli.

He was also alarmed by the increase of car crashes and fatalities on the road in the province since the country moved to Alert Level 3 of the national lockdown, aimed at containing the spread of Covid-19.

Ntuli expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and wished those in hospital a speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, a 43-year-old woman has been charged after allegedly spitting on another woman, throwing a coffee cup at her and screaming racial abuse in a Darling Harbour park in Sydney.

A 60-year-old woman and her husband were exercising in Tumbalong Park on Thursday morning when the woman allegedly attacked the couple.

The pair tried to walk away but the younger woman followed while yelling abuse before officers patrolling nearby intervened.

The assailant was refused bail to appear in Central Local Court on Thursday charged with intimidation, common assault and offensive behaviour.

AAP

Lee Peacock (25) had consumed four glasses of wine over a number of hours before the collision and was travelling at 80kmph in a 60 kmph speed zone. He told gardaí initially he had swerved prior to the accident to avoid an oncoming car but later said it was to avoid a pedestrian on the road.

He later accepted the deceased woman, Jane Dardis, had put her hand on the steering wheel prior to the collision but said she had not been messing and had jerked it a bit in fright when they saw a pedestrian on the road. Peacock said he then swerved to avoid the pedestrian. Peacock said he had not wanted to attribute any blame to Ms Dardis.

Peacock of Seafield Court, Lower Main Street, Rush, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to careless driving causing the death of Ms Dardis at Rush Road, Skerries on October 25, 2016. He has no previous convictions.

Judge Martin Nolan expressed his condolences to Ms Dardis’s family on the terrible tragedy.

He noted the conflicting statements given by Peacock and said he must come to some conclusion about what happened on the night. He said the facts were not clear and he wished to think about it over night.

Judge Nolan remanded Peacock on continuing bail until tomorrow morning when he will finalise the case.

A victim impact statement from Ms Dardis’s family described themselves as now being a “heartbroken, devastated family of three” without her. They described the popular young woman’s “infectious smile” and love of sports including camogie and sailing.

“Jane loved life and life loved her. She was truly a special person,” said her family of the beloved daughter, sister and friend.

Roisin Lacey SC, defending, said Peacock had made admissions from the start about his drinking and excessive speed. She said Peacock had initially not recalled Ms Dardis’s hand being on the steering wheel and when he did, he did not want to seem to be attributing blame to her.

She said Peacock had a close relationship with Ms Dardis and has been significantly traumatised by her death. She said her family’s tragedy is deeply acknowledged and deeply regretted by him.

Ms Lacey said Peacock had grown up in foster care and had supported himself from the age of 18. She said the father-of-one hopes to have a continued career in the hospitality industry. She handed in a number of testimonials on her client’s behalf.

She said Peacock had also written a letter in which she said he accepts his responsibility. She said the court may wish to seek a psychiatric report based on the contents of medial reports indicating concern about his psychiatric vulnerability.

Counsel asked the court to take into account the way he has met the case, his lack of convictions and that gardaí accept he is unlikely to come before the courts again. She asked Judge Nolan to consider a non custodial sentence.

Ms Lacey said Peacock had made a very grave error which weighs heavily on him and will do for the rest of his life.

A man convicted of manslaughter in the 2016 shooting death of former NFL running back Joe McKnight in what prosecutors and witnesses described as a road rage incident, was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison.

“Let this be a cautionary tale to all drivers who rage behind the wheel of their car at other drivers,” Jefferson Parish District Judge Ellen Kovach said at Ronald Gasser’s sentencing, according to NOLA.com. Tragedy could have been avoided, Kovach said, if either man “had the good sense, the courage and the wisdom to simply disengage.”

The men did not know each other but on Dec. 1, 2016, their paths crossed when McKnight, 28, reportedly cut off Gasser, now 56, on a New Orleans bridge, angering him, as Tegan Wendland of WWNO reported. Then in what prosecutors described as a tit-for-tat pursuit of several miles, each man periodically pulled up beside the other and shouted obscenities.

They pulled over about five miles away at a busy intersection just outside the city and argued. Then Gasser, seated behind the wheel of his vehicle, shot McKnight — who was standing outside unarmed — three times, killing him.

That Gasser shot McKnight dead was not in question, he remained at the scene and confessed to police. But Gasser said it was self-defense.

His attorneys argued at trial that their client committed justifiable homicide under the state’s Castle Doctrine, because Gasser remained in his vehicle — his own property — as McKnight lunged into the vehicle to attack, reports NOLA.com.

Yet prosecutors said forensic evidence showed McKnight was never as close as Gasser claimed. They said while McKnight did have a hand on Gasser’s open passenger side window, his clothes showed no sign of gun powder residue and his wounds were not consistent with being shot at close range, according to NOLA.com.

Gasser was not arrested until nearly a week after the shooting.

As WWNO’s Tegan Wendland reported at the time, “Deputies brought him in, questioned him for hours and then released him. … Protesters took to the streets, calling the sheriff’s department racist for releasing the white man after the death of an unarmed black man.”

Gasser was charged with second-degree murder but in January a jury found him guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter.

At his sentencing hearing Thursday, McKnight’s mother, Jennifer, gave tearful testimony, telling Gasser, “You didn’t have to do that,” reports The Associated Press.

McKnight played three seasons with the New York Jets until 2012 and then briefly with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014, until he tore his Achilles tendon.

Gasser’s attorneys are seeking a new trial.