Why was Trevor arrested?

[scher215]

Ummmmm........how about using a little common sense? It's not rocket science.
And again, we enable an athlete to take no responsibility for their actions.
I'm willing to bet we haven't seen the last of Trevor's legal troubles.
But what the hell? He might get us some wins. Who really cares what happens to him when he's done being a Gopher?

Has ANY poster said that Trevor did absolutley nothing wrong? I haven't seen it. In fact, in my posts I definitley said he did something wrong. I am merely attempting to offer explanations of it.

Yes he broke the restraining order. Yes he screwed up. Yes he broke the law. Yes it is his fault and his fault alone. Yes it was dumb dumb dumb, but people are acting like he drove to her house with a loaded gun. Come on now, he wished her well for the new year and was trying to be supportive of her. And all of this talk of a "pattern"? Tell me, what violent acts has Trevor been convicted of? Anyone? Oh wait, he hasn't been? Got it. You mean his only offense is sending a supportive facebook message to someone that he had a worse than poor break up with? Hurry, get the pitchforks!

And lastly, how does not suspending him mean we do not care about him as a person? IF and it is a huge IF IMO, Trevor has "issues" they are not going to be fixed by simply suspending him for a few games. The law (Not Gopher fans) will determine his legal consequences and if they feel he needs punishment/help then if they determine he does not, if someone close to him feels he really does have a problem (I, for one, firmly believe he does not, albeit I do not have all of the information by any means) then you get counseling and therapy. No one has ever seen a friend in trouble and said, "ya know, they have never physically harmed someone, but I am worried they might. Therapy would really do them a lot of good ... but I'd much rather force them to quit doing what they love, that's got to be the right solution!"

 

[scher215]

Not saying he is guilty of anything, nor am I saying he will commit a serious violent crime in the future. I just agree that what has transpired over the past year or two is disturbing. I am sure drugs and alcohol are prevalent in many of the cases yes, I would guess they are not present in all of them. Just thinking about the stuff he has been involved in over the past few years makes red stop lights flash in my mind, reads like the beginning of a tragic story.

In the pioneer press article today it says he threatened to harm the "white girl" when she wouldn't hand over the phone to his ex, every abuser had to have had a first time they abused someone. You can call me what you want but even without a pattern of violence I wouldn't want him dating my daughter even if he doesn't drink or do drugs.

From what I understand, he has been with his current GF for at least a year now. And has had no history of violence against her or their son or even threatening it (I am not in their lives 24/7 though so it really doesn't mean much when I say that). I have not, but I can imagine many 19 year olds have said unfortunate, horrible things when they have been dumped by someone they "love" and acting irrationally. I would imagine many people in divorce do as well.

I do understand where you are coming from, that it does sound like it could be the start of something bad. Especially with the Miami charges, and even though those really do mean nothing (never proven he did it) it is still very difficult to just ignore a charge like that. There is a reason lawyers say things they know will get "removed" from the evidence with jurors told to "forget" it was said. I personally do not believe Trevor Mbakwe is any kind of threat to society or any other person. Do I know him very well? No, but simply basing it on what I see, here, and believe, I think he is a good person who has just made some mistakes. He isn't fighting teammates in the stands, he isn't bringing guns to night clubs, he isn't beating up girls in the streets, he isn't doing drugs or acting drunk and disorderly,

if his only offense is saying incredibly stupid things to a girl and stupidly calling her nonstop (stupid enough to warrant a restraining order) and stupidly writing a supportive facebook message to that girl (violating said restraining order), I do not think he is in any way shape or form a bad person or someone to worry about harming others. He made some mistakes, and it got more serious than I am sure he ever imagined it would. Hopefully he has learned from it and realized some things and will be an even better person for it and will not let these things get prevent him from achieving his goals.

 

[CP Gopher]

we'll see what happens.....

 

[scher215]

we'll see what happens.....

That is all any of us can really do. It is interesting to debate it on here, but at the end of the day the decisions are made by Joel Maturi, Tubby Smith, Trevor Mbakwe and more importantly the legal system. Hopefully in the future nothing like this happens again, and personally, I will support Trevor as long as he is a Gopher and after he is one. That does not mean, however, that if the law decides that he needs a punishment I will find it outrageous or think he can do no wrong ever.

 

[Down with Goldy]

Wait, white girl give her the phone is that bad? Really? Kick him off the team for THAT? oy.

What if she was actually black?

 

[Blizzard]

From what I understand, he has been with his current GF for at least a year now.

He's been with his current girlfriend/fiance since 2006. There was an article yesterday done by a Joy someone at the Strib which was incorrect.

 

[scher215]

He's been with his current girlfriend/fiance since 2006. There was an article yesterday done by a Joy someone at the Strib which was incorrect.

Well now I am really confused lol didn't the break up and restraining order happen in 2009? I am done with this. He is back. The law will decide the rest. Time to just let it play out.

 

[underground629]

Hahaha I know, seriously. People don't even know whether it's true, the context, the tone, and of course they've never said anything sexist, homophobic, or racist in the heat of the moment. They've never said anything that doesn't reflect their beliefs. I'm sure Trevor just hates white people. We should kick him off the team right now.

Wait, white girl give her the phone is that bad? Really? Kick him off the team for THAT? oy.

 

[tjgopher]

This is a St Paul charge

So far, no charges have been filed at all. There's a chance they might not ever be filed in this case.

 

[scher215]

So far, no charges have been filed at all. There's a chance they might not ever be filed in this case.

Marcus just tweeted charges have been formally filed. A misdemeanor for violating a harassment restraining order. His court date is set for January 20th.

I am not familiar with what punishment he is facing or likely to get, maybe a more legal minded person could answer that?

 

[tjgopher]

Marcus just tweeted charges have been formally filed. A misdemeanor for violating a harassment restraining order. His court date is set for January 20th.

I am not familiar with what punishment he is facing or likely to get, maybe a more legal minded person could answer that?

Fair enough. Charges filed. Sounds like either there's more to the story, or there's an attorney looking to make a name for themselves with a high profile misdemeanor case.

 

[scher215]

Fair enough. Charges filed. Sounds like either there's more to the story, or there's an attorney looking to make a name for themselves with a high profile misdemeanor case.

I think they filed it because it is obvious guilt and they can't just let him walk. He will get something, I doubt it is much though. I don't think he will get any jail time at least, I could see required therapy and a fine. No clue on the aspects of the law, just a wild guess (Not using any facts here, for those who may be checking on that)

 

[scher215]

Here is an article on it, no mention of possible punishments.

http://www.twincities.com/ci_17078541?nclick_check=1

The St. Paul city attorney's office today formally charged University of Minnesota basketball player Trevor Mbakwe with violation of a harassment restraining order.

The misdemeanor offense is the same thing that police issued Mbakwe a citation for after his arrest Monday. The city attorney's office approved the original citation today, said City Attorney Sara Grewing.

A woman, now 22, obtained a harassment order against Mbakwe in 2009 because he allegedly continued to call her when they broke up, and she feared he would harm her. The two-year order remains in effect until Aug. 11.

Mbakwe, 21, was arrested Monday and accused of violating the restraining order by sending a Facebook message to the woman. He was released from jail that night.

Mbakwe's bail was set at $500. There are no conditions to his release and the money is to assure his appearance in court Jan. 20, Grewing said.

 

[scher215]

I found this online, not sure how accurate it is or how it pertains to Trevor, but FWIW

I could see him paying a $700 fine and being done with it. It was not a threatening breach, therefore I don't see him going to jail for it and a misdemeanor punishable by a $700 fine likely wouldn't see any suspension, but who knows. Royce White left before we could find out.

http://www.crimeandpunishment.net/MN/chart.html

Minimum Fines

Felony, Gross Misdemeanor, and Misdemeanor Offenses are Subject to a Mandatory Fine of at Least 30% of the Maximum Fine Authorized by Law.

Petty Misdemeanor

Up to $200 Fine

Misdemeanor

Up to $700 Fine &/or Up to 90 Days in Jail

Gross Misdemeanor

Up to $3000 Fine &/or Up to 1 Year in Jail

 

[joemagoo362]

Fair enough. Charges filed. Sounds like either there's more to the story, or there's an attorney looking to make a name for themselves with a high profile misdemeanor case.

Exactly what I'm thinking. My dad actually used to be a prosecutor in the Ramsey County attorney's office, he works in a different county now, but he told me that to him this was essentially a throw-away case. I suppose that because its a high profile name that could change things.

 

[ethomasp31]

If there was more to the story, I'm sorry, but bail would have been set at more than $500. The kid made a mistake that he has been punished for MORE THAN ENOUGH!!! He has been embarrassed, sent to jail, and humiliated, and in this case, that is enough. That is why it is a throw out case. Look at the intent and use some common sense. I don't want to pay for police to be spending their time driving to someone's house and dragging them to jail for the type of facebook message that he sent to her. What if those officers could have been able to stop a serious crime from happening or someone from being injured or killed.

 

[ProfessorBum]

If there was more to the story, I'm sorry, but bail would have been set at more than $500. The kid made a mistake that he has been punished for MORE THAN ENOUGH!!! He has been embarrassed, sent to jail, and humiliated, and in this case, that is enough. That is why it is a throw out case. Look at the intent and use some common sense. I don't want to pay for police to be spending their time driving to someone's house and dragging them to jail for the type of facebook message that he sent to her. What if those officers could have been able to stop a serious crime from happening or someone from being injured or killed.

Then write you legislators, because as I posted earlier, cops have no discretion on this. The law prescribes a mandatory arrest. I like cops being able to use a little common sense as well. But in area of harassment orders and OFP's, they have no such freedom to do so.

 

[scher215]

Then write you legislators, because as I posted earlier, cops have no discretion on this. The law prescribes a mandatory arrest. I like cops being able to use a little common sense as well. But in area of harassment orders and OFP's, they have no such freedom to do so.

Not sure what the extent of your legal knowledge is, but any idea what he is likely to recieve as punishment here? He essentially has to plead guilty.

 

[panndder]

Not sure what the extent of your legal knowledge is, but any idea what he is likely to recieve as punishment here? He essentially has to plead guilty.

Why does he have to plead guilty? I'd say that I used Facebook at a coffee shop on an unsecured wireless connection (not unlikely) without using the encrypted layer (as Facebook defaults to) and someone gained access to my account through the use of the Firesheep plug-in for Firefox.

/But I'm not his lawyer

 

[ProfessorBum]

Not sure what the extent of your legal knowledge is, but any idea what he is likely to recieve as punishment here? He essentially has to plead guilty.

I predict a fine only...maybe with a suspended 30-day jail sentence or something along those lines. But no jail time--at least not based on this charge alone.

 

[figi]

I personally do not care for this kind of "phraseology".

Is, "hey, black boy..." appropriate? I don't think so.

In any case it certainly is not worthy of being booted from the team.

IMHO.

Agreed! It indicates racism and lack of respect for women. However,such talk is simply part of the jargon many learn to use now days and may not mean what it seems to mean to older folks like me.