'Noles triple jumper gets year of probation
By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published July 19, 2005
Florida State track and field star Rafeeq Curry has struck a deal with Texas prosecutors that will "appropriately" resolve his misdemeanor assault charge stemming from a brawl after the 2004 NCAA championship meet, his attorney told the St. Petersburg Times .
Curry will receive a year of probation by entering a pretrial diversion program in which he won't have to enter a plea or appear before a judge. Assuming he has no other problems, the case will be dismissed and he will have no conviction on his record. He also must perform 80 hours of community service, likely through his church, and pay $17,000 in medical expenses to former Clemson standout Airese Currie.
"It's very rarely given," Houston-based defense attorney Wayne Heller said of the deal. "But there was a pretty good self-defense issue and Rafeeq's record was clean."
Curry, 21, was seen fighting with Currie in the middle of the road in the Austin nightclub district at about 12:30 a.m. on June 13, 2004. Police and prosecutors said he hit Currie with a bottle and cut his face.
FSU suspended Curry, a senior this fall, for eight months; he couldn't compete in any event, including the 2004 Olympic trials. He returned for the 2005 indoor season. Curry, a six-time All-America triple jumper, declined comment through his attorney.
BASKETBALL: Former Arkansas standout Ron Huery is in jail. A police report said Huery, 38, of Fayetteville, forced an ex-girlfriend into his vehicle, drove her to his apartment, hit her and raped her. ... With Randolph Morris' possible return in the hands of the NCAA, assistant David Hobbs said Kentucky must prepare to play without him. Morris entered the NBA draft but was not taken, and he has asked for reinstatement.
FOOTBALL: The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that all legal proceedings in the wrongful-death suit filed by the family of Northwestern safety Rashidi Wheeler should be placed on hold as the school appeals its $100,000 settlement reached in the fall.
BASEBALL: Former Louisiana-Monroe pitcher Jesse Gay, 22, faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide. He was driving his pickup truck when it crashed into a medical center on Oct. 16, 2004, killing an 89-year-old Arkansas woman.
--Information from the Associated Press was used in the report.