By James Greaves
One former BYU football player pleaded guilty and another was sentenced in 4th District Court on charges stemming from an April 14 assault.
Former wide receiver Breyon Jones pleaded guilty to two class-A misdemeanors – simple assault and providing false statements to the police – in a plea bargain to drop a felony robbery charge; the same deal former running back Marcus Whalen struck with the prosecution on Nov. 3.
Whalen was sentenced to 15 days in Utah County Jail and 15 days of community service.
“It feels like I”ve done a lot worse than what I”ve been charged with,” Whalen said after the hearing.
Jones” original arraignment hearing was on Nov. 3, but his counsel, Danny Frazier, was unable as attend. The hearing was delayed until Wednesday, and Jones will return to court on Dec. 1 for sentencing.
Both men were suspended from BYU until January 2005.
In the final stage of the case against Whalen, the prosecution reminded Judge Lynn W. Davis of the injuries inflicted on Yussufu Nsabimaba in April, by presenting a picture of the man shortly after the incident. The defense brought forward one last testimony from Whalen”s mother.
Sentencing for the misdemeanors was considered openly, with Davis questioning Whalen, his counsel and opposing counsel, about what they thought needed to happen.
As well as the jail and community service, Whalen was ordered to pay a $925 fine. He was also found responsible for $258 taken from Nsabimaba, though no robbery charges were pressed. A restitution fee is likely, but the amount will be decided after Jones” sentencing, Davis said.
Davis waived the usual class A-misdemeanor sentence, one year in jail and $2,500 fine, for both misdemeanor charges.
“You”re a fine young man who made a mistake,” Davis told him.
After the hearing, Whalen said he was glad the ordeal was over.
“It”s over, that”s the main thing,” he said. “I feel a lot better. It was fair, I”m accountable for the things I did.”
Davis granted Whalen 60 days to report to jail to give him time to arrange things with his wife and two children, as well as work.
Davis also commented that local media had not made things easy on Whalen and his family.
“There”s been more media attention for this misdemeanor case than for some double homicide cases I”ve been on,” Davis said.
Though he was silent during the hearing, Whalen sa0id he agreed with Davis.
Whalen said his next move was to get back into school and take care of his family. He hinted at playing in the Canadian Football League.
His mother, Christina Whalen, said she was very proud of her son and looked forward to things returning to normal.
“We miss watching him play football,” she said.
Whalen did not mention reapplying for BYU in January when his suspension expires, but his mother said it would make the most sense.
“He only has three classes left,” she said. “If he transferred somewhere else it would take at least a year.”
