Kansas basketball player Arterio Morris’ court case in state of Texas ends with plea deal
LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball player Arterio Morris’ criminal case in the state of Texas is now closed, after a plea agreement.
Originally, Morris was arrested in June 2022 and faced a charge of a Class A misdemeanor for allegedly committing assault that caused bodily injury to a family member — with the affidavit for his arrest extending that description to potentially including someone with whom there’d been a dating relationship. According to Denton County court records, the disposition file outlines a plea agreement for a Class C misdemeanor for assault. And as punishment, Morris is responsible for a $362 fine.
This means that there will be no jury trial next month for Morris — who transferred to the University of Kansas from the University of Texas ahead of the upcoming college basketball season — as that’s been canceled. Morris did not end up pleading guilty, instead choosing to enter a plea of “Nolo Contendre.” In the agreement, there is a note that states the state has abandoned its family violence finding.
The development comes after the complaining witness in the case stated a desire, in an affidavit of non-prosecution earlier this year, to no longer pursue charges against Morris. The witness expressed in that document a full recanting of statements made to any law enforcement agency. The witness — who was described in the affidavit for Morris’ arrest last year as his ex-girlfriend — had asked for all charges to be dropped, but understood as well that might not happen.
A spokesperson for KU Athletics said the department has no comment.
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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Court case for Kansas basketball player Arterio Morris ends with plea
