Mich. St. RB Delton Williams pleads guilty to reduced weapons charge
Six weeks after his arrest for brandishing a firearm during a traffic incident, Michigan State running back Delton Williams pleaded guilty to a reduced weapons charge on Wednesday.
According to police, on March 16, Williams cut off a man in traffic and the man honked at Williams. At that point, after the man told Williams to slow down, Williams allegedly pulled out a gun, but did not point it.
Williams had a concealed weapons permit, but as a part of the plea deal reached Wednesday, Williams “will forfeit his firearm and not seek a concealed weapons permit in any other state,” per Mlive.com.
Williams is due for sentencing on Dec. 18, though the case could still be dismissed.
From Mlive.com:
Williams is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 18 in 54-B District Court. Jim Newton, Williams attorney, told MLive.com that as part of the delayed sentence agreement with the prosecutor, Williams’ plea may be withdrawn and the case dismissed on Dec. 18 – assuming there are no other violations.
Newton said that Williams hopes to “offer an apology” to Mr. Anan Abubaker, the driver of the other car in the incident.
“This is Delton trying to take responsibility for what happened,” Newton told Mlive.com. “I know he regrets what happened, and he has grown immensely from this experience. I know that in talking to him and his mother it has had a tremendous impact.”
Abubaker previously wrote a letter to Michigan State police and asked to drop the charges against Williams. Abubaker wrote that he looked into Williams’ background and saw that Williams’ brother was shot and killed outside a tavern in Erie, Pa. (Williams’ hometown) and could understand “why he would have a weapon.”
“I wouldn’t want him to be thrown out of school over a silly mistake he made in a moment of fear,” Abubaker wrote, per the Detroit Free-Press. “I believe he will learn his lesson and move on to better things.”
Even with the plea bargain, Williams’ future at Michigan State is still up in the air. He has been suspended indefinitely from the team since his arrest. Jason Cody, a spokesman for MSU, said that Williams is still enrolled at the school and is subject to MSU’s student judicial process, which could ultimately determine his fate.
Williams ran for 326 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore and was expected to take on a larger role in the Spartans’ offense in 2015.
For more Michigan State news, visit SpartanMag.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
