Razorback Basketball Players Plead Not Guilty to Forgery Charges

[Scott Marshall]

Two Razorback basketball players pleaded not guilty to forgery charges in connection with a counterfeit money investigation.

Anton Beard and Jacorey Williams' arraignment was held Wednesday morning in Judge Reynolds' courtroom at the Washington County Detention Center.

Read more here: http://www.nwahomepage.com/news/razorback-basketball-players-plead-not-guilty-to-forgery-charges

[WarPig88]

How soon till they move on to the next phase? Is this when plea bargains occur?

Thanks for the update.

[PorkRinds]

Correction, only one of them is a razorback basketball player.

[hogsanity]

For the legal eagles here, does this mean they were not offered a deal before hand, or if they were it was one they would not accept?

[widespreadsooie]

Will there be an NCAA investigation about where the money came from if they're let off counterfeiting charges? I believe there could be, then things could get real messy. 

[WarPig88]

Will there be an NCAA investigation about where the money came from if they're let off counterfeiting charges? I believe there could be, then things could get real messy.

No. It wasn't real money. It would be different if it were. The court will also establish the source of the money. If it isn't someone related to the program, it will be a matter of record with no need for investigation.

[widespreadsooie]

No. It wasn't real money. It would be different if it were. The court will also establish the source of the money. If it isn't someone related to the program, it will be a matter of record with no need for investigation.

Thanks, I thought maybe intent could exceed the fact it wasn't real.

[hawginbigd1]

Thanks, I thought maybe intent could exceed the fact it wasn't real.

I have been wondering the same thing, now if as some people have rumored that a family member was the source, then it would maybe not be an impermissible benefit situation.

[hawginbigd1]

I am no lawyer but actually being arraigned for the forgery charges does not seem like a good thing.

[The_Iceman]

I am no lawyer but actually being arraigned for the forgery charges does not seem like a good thing.

Arraignment is basically just getting a court date.

[hawginbigd1]

Arraignment is basically just getting a court date.

Right but I was thinking the charges would be something lesser or dropped altogether if it was going to be good news, i may have been wishing.

[hogsanity]

Right but I was thinking the charges would be something lesser or dropped altogether if it was going to be good news, i may have been wishing.

Thankfully I have very limited experience with the legal system, but I expected a plea deal today.

[WarPig88]

Thankfully I have very limited experience with the legal system, but I expected a plea deal today.

Generally you plea BEFORE a deal is struck. The prosecution doesn't want to go through a trial anymore than the defendants actually do. Entering a not guilty plea makes the DA's office look at the real possibility of putting together a case, which takes time and resources. Now the defendant has something to bargain with and if there are any chinks in the armor of the case at all the prosecutor is more likely to cut a better deal at this stage.

The wheels of justice tend to turn slowly.

[hogsanity]

Generally you plea BEFORE a deal is struck. The prosecution doesn't want to go through a trial anymore than the defendants actually do. Entering a not guilty plea makes the DA's office look at the real possibility of putting together a case, which takes time and resources. Now the defendant has something to bargain with and if there are any chinks in the armor of the case at all the prosecutor is more likely to cut a better deal at this stage.

The wheels of justice tend to turn slowly.

makes sense.

[DeltaBoy]

Fake money been around for years shoot even my old daddy got a fake bill back in the 1980's.   The Bank caught it and gave Dad some real money in return and turned it in to the FBI!   The Arrest of these 2 players was a major over reaction by the Police.

[husker71]

don't agree  ^^^   think this is kind of a big deal   maybe not to the extent of some jail time but I certainly would not want to be in their shoes   The real story here is did they know it was counterfeit   guessing you old daddy did not and did not try to defraud anybody   really hope that is the case here

[hogsanity]

Fake money been around for years shoot even my old daddy got a fake bill back in the 1980's.   The Bank caught it and gave Dad some real money in return and turned it in to the FBI!   The Arrest of these 2 players was a major over reaction by the Police.

If it was one bill, that is one thing, but they obviously knew what they had and what they were doing, imo. Taking $20's to a cig shop and asking for 50"s and 100's as change? Who does that? Now, proving intent to defraud may be hard. Plus, we do not know what other evidence the prosecution may have either.

[arkmark]

Briefly an arraignment is the first, formal appearance of a defendant, in a court and accompanied by an attorney he has retained or by a public defender he has qualified for as an indigent (unable to afford representation on his own).  Prior to an arraignment there likely has been no work between the prosecutor and the defense on a plea bargain.  Not enough time and the defense has not received much if any information about the situation to base a negotiation on.

The first purpose of the arraignment is the formal written notice to the defendant of what he is charged with, a summary of the information upon which the charge(s) is based and the potential maximum penalties the court could impose upon any conviction.  The summary is often a sworn statement of an investigating officer as to the who, what when and where of the charge.  It seeks to establish probable cause that a crime has been committed and that the defendant committed or participated in committing the crime.  Few cases are lost by the prosecution at this point and the process moves to the point that the court finds probable cause that a crime has been committed and that the defendant was involved.

At this point the defendant is asked for his plea which generally is not guilty although in some cases a no contest or guilty plea may happen (not often).  The court accepts the plea.

Following this the court will take the arguments of both sides for release pending further proceedings or for his custody (jail).  If a defendant has been released with or without bail prior to this point and there is no new information as why incarceration is necessary it is likely that that status will continue.  If the defendant has been in custody then arguments will be more likely as to why or why not continue the incarceration pending the outcome of the case.  The judge decides and can do a lot of things with conditions of release but we're keeping this simple, it's going to be release of some sort or jail.

Finally, some scheduling will take place.  There may be a trial date set at some point in the future.  There will likely also be set date(s) for appearances for what can be called status conferences or meetings in court to do housekeeping on how things are proceeding to trial.  And this is when the plea bargaining will begin as now is when the defense will begin to investigate the case, receive case information from the prosecution in some manner and the defendant and his attorney will confer to come to some conclusions as to whether there is a defense that is viable, in some cases maybe not so much, and whether the defendant is open to a negotiation of the charges and penalties between the attorneys for an agreed upon outcome subject to the courts approval.  The plea bargain.  So for the three defendants the resolution of this case, a plea bargain, may be a few weeks away or maybe a couple of months or more away or it may not occur until a full trial is held as it is their right to have one.  Of course all of the above is contingent of the defendant not maintaining his desire to take the case to trial.  In either event don't count on a quick conclusion.

The description above should be close to what happens here, I am not an attorney, but spent my career working with the courts, attorneys and law enforcement in another state.  Terminology and such vary by jurisdictions but the general process is pretty consistent.

[azhog10]

They were better off just stealing what they wanted instead of trying to pay for it with illegal bills.......

[PorkRinds]

Fake money been around for years shoot even my old daddy got a fake bill back in the 1980's.   The Bank caught it and gave Dad some real money in return and turned it in to the FBI!   The Arrest of these 2 players was a major over reaction by the Police.

Say what? Ayfsm?

[Mike Irwin]

Will there be an NCAA investigation about where the money came from if they're let off counterfeiting charges? I believe there could be, then things could get real messy.

The NCAA investigates violations of NCAA rules not actual crimes. If players were being paid by boosters with fake money then yes, that would be an NCAA violation. So far there's no indication that happened in this situation.

[nwahogfan1]

Heard yesterday that no way Beard or Thomas ever plays at Arkansas again.

Any truth to that statement.

[TomBigBeeHog]

Heard yesterday that no way Beard or Thomas ever plays at Arkansas again.

Any truth to that statement.

Depends on who you heard it from. If it was from the judge or someone with the athletic department, I would believe it. The longer this process goes on, the less likely they will return. If this thing goes past the second hearing and a trial date is set, then absent an acquittal, they are most like done.

[hogsanity]

Depends on who you heard it from. If it was from the judge or someone with the athletic department, I would believe it. The longer this process goes on, the less likely they will return. If this thing goes past the second hearing and a trial date is set, then absent an acquittal, they are most like done.

Just have to wonder what other evidence, other than the bills they were caught with, the prosecution might have. Did they find more bills during a search? Things like that will go a long way to determining the ultimate outcome.

I am really surprised there was not already a plea deal. I thought Beard would be back by the 2nd semester, until the 1st court date got pushed back. I know that is not abnormal, but it just put things closer to the start of the season.

[TomBigBeeHog]

After the omnibus hearing is when plea deals usually start being made.

[widespreadsooie]

Heard yesterday that no way Beard or Thomas ever plays at Arkansas again.

Any truth to that statement.

I haven't heard any info on Thomas, but I did hear that there's a chance Anton will be suiting back up for us at some point. More likely for the 2016-17 season.

[Cavehog]

What happened to the good 'ole days when it was just begonias off a porch?

[PonderinHog]

What happened to the good 'ole days when it was just begonias off a porch?

Or an old lady's cow.  True story.

[Cavehog]

Or an old lady's cow.  True story.

And there was that goat tied up in the Tri Delt house . . . no wait that was the Lamba Gooks.

[widespreadsooie]

And there was that goat tied up in the Tri Delt house . . . no wait that was the Lamba Gooks.

Rho Delt

[sickboy]

Heard yesterday that no way Beard or Thomas ever plays at Arkansas again.

Any truth to that statement.

My general rule is don't believe anyone who feeds you rumors in absolutes. Saying there is no way something happens, one way or the other, is rather naive. In my experience -- there are always variables that can change the outcome of any given situation.

[moses_007]

I seriously don't see Beard suiting up in a Razorback uniform again.  Even if he is eventually cleared, I can't see Mike keeping a player that brought this kind of negative publicity to the program.

[TomBigBeeHog]

I seriously don't see Beard suiting up in a Razorback uniform again.  Even if he is eventually cleared, I can't see Mike keeping a player that brought this kind of negative publicity to the program.

It's not a rape, robbery or assault charge. MA shouldn't have a problem keeping him, especially if he is cleared.

[Hog_Swanson]

I haven't been keeping up with this.  Is there anything new or are we still waiting for the court dates?

[Hawg Red]

I haven't been keeping up with this.  Is there anything new or are we still waiting for the court dates?

October 27 court date for all three.

[The_Iceman]

I haven't been keeping up with this.  Is there anything new or are we still waiting for the court dates?

No word yet.

I honestly think Beard is the difference in making the NIT and not making the NIT. So Mike is going to wait until he absolutely has to do something with Beard.

[hogsanity]

October 27 court date for all three.

Was really thinking there would have been a plea deal reached after the 1st hearing. That court date is two weeks after practice starts, approx.

[jry04]

No word yet.

I honestly think Beard is the difference in making the NIT and not making the NIT. So Mike is going to wait until he absolutely has to do something with Beard.

Mike and Jeff Long are typically no nonsense type guys. If it looked more likely that Beard was going to see jail time and end up having to be kicked off, he would likely already have been kicked off. I honestly think there is a chance he is able to return at some point considering he is still enrolled and going to class regularly. If he was facing jail time, I do not see us letting him hang around, and he surely wouldn't be continuing with school and hanging out with the team, in my opinion.

I saw Thomas on the field for the UTEP game with the rest of the team.

[TomBigBeeHog]

/quote]

Good sign. Hopefully both back before long.

[Jonteviosk]

Question,
Thomas I thought couldn't play till next year. I saw him on the roster does this mean he can play this year?

[HawgAdvocate]

Question,
Thomas I thought couldn't play till next year. I saw him on the roster does this mean he can play this year?

He is currently on scholarship, but has to sit out per transfer rules. He's still on the roster, but can't play this season.

[TomBigBeeHog]

been awfully quiet on this. Pretty good sign so far. Gonna be great to get Beard and Thomas back. They can beef up our numbers and Beard will give us a chance to win a few more games, on the road especially.

Really looking forward to seeing this team in action. Lots of questions to be answered. Every player will have multiple threads discussing their contributions and abilities. Going to be fun getting to know this team.

[Hawg Red]

been awfully quiet on this. Pretty good sign so far. Gonna be great to get Beard and Thomas back. They can beef up our numbers and Beard will give us a chance to win a few more games, on the road especially.

Really looking forward to seeing this team in action. Lots of questions to be answered. Every player will have multiple threads discussing their contributions and abilities. Going to be fun getting to know this team.

Next Tuesday is their court date. Hopefully we can get some substantial at that time.

[King Kong]

Next Tuesday is their court date. Hopefully we can get some substantial at that time.

Would be nice to have some positive resolution news right before Monk visits Halloween weekend.

[hogsanity]

Would be nice to have some positive resolution news right before Monk visits Halloween weekend.

I am still shocked there has been no plea deal reached. I thought for sure, if there was going to be one, it would have been before practice started.

[Scott7703]

Heard yesterday that no way Beard or Thomas ever plays at Arkansas again.

Any truth to that statement.

Last I heard on this beard would be back at some point this season. I haven't heard anything on Thomas but can't imagine him not keeping a spot of beard is allowed back.

[TomBigBeeHog]

I am still shocked there has been no plea deal reached. I thought for sure, if there was going to be one, it would have been before practice started.

Probably in the works for entry on their upcoming court date.

[jry04]

I know I have said it in other threads, but I cannot imagine Anderson keeping them around if there wasn't a good chance of them returning. I know the whole "let play out approach" happens quite a bit, but usually the coach knows the details pretty early, and can make an informed decision.

[jjdlc]

I know I have said it in other threads, but I cannot imagine Anderson keeping them around if there wasn't a good chance of them returning. I know the whole "let play out approach" happens quite a bit, but usually the coach knows the details pretty early, and can make an informed decision.

Yeah, I don't think Beard had any priors, so I figure there is a pretty good chance they can reach a plea agreement, especially if he can give them any info that points in the direction of the actual counterfeiters. 

Is today the 2nd hearing?

[TomBigBeeHog]

Is today the 2nd hearing?

Think its the 27th. That's what I've seen on here.