Former Fresno basketball phenom in hot water for domestic violence charge
A college basketball star and Fresno County native has been suspended for at least three games by his team, following his no contest plea to a domestic incident back in June.
University of Las Vegas guard Tre’Von Willis will miss the start of the upcoming 2010 season after pleading no contest to an altercation with a 28-year-old woman at a Las Vegas area apartment back on June 28.
The 22-year-old Willis was accused of choking his girlfriend during an argument. He was arrested on June 29 at the Henderson Apartment complex.
Willis entered his plea Tuesday afternoon, and later apologized for his actions at a press conference held on the UNLV campus.
“I feel awful and embarrassed,” Willis told reporters. “I used extremely poor judgment, made a mistake and take responsibility for what happened. I will work hard to earn back the trust and support of the fans and those close to me.”
Willis will have to pay a fine of $340, perform 100 hours of community service and attend counseling sessions after a felony charge of domestic battery by strangulation was reduced to a misdemeanor.
Before playing at UNLV, Willis was a star guard at Washington Union High School in Fresno, where his 2,842 career points were the fifth-most in California state high school history.
His head coach Lon Kruger released this statement:
“Tre’Von made a mistake and feels horrible about it. He let a lot of people down. With any mistake, there are consequences and he is accepting responsibility for what he did. In addition to the legal system penalties, he is also being penalized by the program to address the mistakes he made and will miss the first 10 percent of his senior season.”
