Kansas freshman guard Josh Jackson has been charged of one count of criminal damage to property for presumably harming a car outside a Lawrence bar in December, Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson revealed Friday.
Jackson will be provided a summons to appear in court for criminal damage to property below $1,000, a misdemeanor, Branson stated in a statement.
“I am really sorry that this entire situation happened,” Jackson said in a statement to the Lawrence Journal-World. “I was aiming to help a teammate and sadly the matter intensified.
“There were many other individuals included, and I have already offered to pay for any damage that I directly caused. I am anxious to solve this and focus on school and basketball.”
The charge comes from a December 9 argument outside a bar named the Yacht Club. As per Branson, Jackson followed a female to her automobile after she threw a drink at his friend in the bar. Jackson allegedly argued with the lady, and her car was harmed during that time. Witnesses informed investigators that he kicked the door and taillight of her automobile during the argument.
About $3,100 worth of damage was done to the vehicle, and the door and taillight damage totaled about $1,200. Damage going beyond $1,000 can be charged as a felony, however the declaration notes Jackson was alleged of a misdemeanor due to the fact that the state could not prove he was responsible for all the damage. Other unknown individuals also caused damage to the vehicle, the district attorney stated.
Coach Bill Self said in a declaration that the team has currently disciplined Jackson.
“I understand Josh has remorse for his actions in this occurrence. He and I both know he could have exercised better judgment for this preventable scenario, but I’m pleased with how he’s accepted duty,” Self stated. “This does not eliminate from the fact that he has been an excellent ambassador for this university. He will learn from this occurence and be better for it. We used the appropriate internal discipline immediately after; that discipline will stay in house.”
Jackson is averaging 16.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists every game for the third-ranked Jayhawks (25-3). In his recent mock draft, ESPN’s Chad Ford puts Jackson to be the No. 3 choice in the 2017 NBA draft.
