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FOOTBALL: Judge signs off on favorable plea agreement in Jayru Campbell assault case, star CT QB back on team
DETROIT – If all goes well, Detroit Cass Tech all-state quarterback and Michigan State football-commit Jayru Campbell will avoid having his assault charges stemming from a physical altercation with a school security guard back on January 22 appear on his adult record and will be under center for the Technicians at some point in the 2014 season.
The Honorable Timothy Kenny of the 36th District Court in Detroit agreed to a plea deal between Wayne County prosecutors and Campbell’s attorney Friday afternoon, citing the defendant’s “family situation and background” as the reasons for his decision to grant the request, not him “being a good athlete.”
Cass Tech head football coach Thomas Wilcher told reporters on Friday that Campbell is expected to be on the field this fall for his senior campaign, calling signals.
Campbell (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) returned to school last month after serving a two-month suspension for body-slamming Robert Donovan, following Donovan ordering the star quarterback to remove the hood of his jacket off his head in the hallway between classes.
Only 17, he would go on to be charged as an adult with two counts of assault, one a felony and the other a misdemeanor. Under the plea, prosecutors have agreed to drop the felony in exchange for Campbell pleading guilty to the misdemeanor under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (allowing the incident to be cleared off his criminal record).
The felony charge held a maximum prison sentence of ten years.
At the next court hearing on the matter scheduled for May 30, Campbell will be expected to read a formal apology to Donovan and will have to successfully complete psychological and anger management counseling.
The tussle with Donovan, which was caught on video tape, capped a rough couple months for the Motor City gridiron phenom, who blasted into the headlines as a freshman in 2011, leading Cass Tech to the first of two straight Division 1 state crowns.
In the wake of the Technician’s quest for a three-peat being thwarted by Novi Detroit Catholic Central in the state semifinals in November, Campbell slugged an opposing player in the post-game hand shake line. Prior to that, he was sidelined for portions of earlier-round Cass Tech playoff games due to disciplinary issues. Just weeks before the altercation with Donovan, he was involved in a shoving match at a basketball game.
When exactly Campbell will make it back on the field is still unresolved. He’s already slated to serve a full-game suspension in the opener because of the punch thrown in the hand shake line after losing to Catholic Central, the same club he had beaten in the state finals the past two years. What his internal punishment for the assault against Donovan is and how much additional time he’ll be forced to miss has yet to be decided.
