I wonder if this is like 'Double Secret Probation'?
cnnsi.com
UConn trio receives special probation
DANIELSON, Conn. (AP) -- Three Connecticut football players, including one from New Jersey, received a special form of probation Monday for their roles in a pellet-gun shooting outside a Willimantic convenience store last month.
Defensive backs Tyvon Branch, 19, of Cicero, N.Y.; Marvin Taylor, 20, of New Brunswick, N.J., and Donta Moore, 19, of Tampa, Fla. were granted accelerated rehabilitation, a program for first-time offenders. Charges against them would be dismissed if they successfully complete two years of probation.
Five players were arrested May 8 after a shot fired from inside their sport utility vehicle shattered the driver's side window of another car at a Willimantic convenience store.
Moore told police the pellet gun went off accidentally while he was trying to fix the gun, which Taylor had found earlier in the day in the garbage, according to court documents.
"I'm not the kind of person this incident made me out to be," Moore told Superior Court Judge Michael Dannehy.
A woman and her son were in the other car, but neither were injured, according to the police report.
The players fled the scene, but were arrested a short time later.
They were each charged with possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle. Moore was also charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree criminal mischief, third-degree assault, and the unlawful discharge of a firearm.
Last month, prosecutors dropped gun possession charges against 19-year-old defensive end Daniel Davis, of Plainfield, N.J.; and 19-year-old linebacker Daniel Lansanah of Harrisburg, Pa.
Under terms of their probation, Branch, who was driving the sport utility vehicle and Taylor will have to perform 50 hours of community service in Willimantic.
Moore will have to serve 100 hours.
"I believe it was a foolish, reckless accident and not intentional," Dannehy said. "You've got to stop and think about your actions."
"You are under a microscope. I heard about this case on the morning news and it was reported as a drive-by shooting."
All five players were suspended from the football team following the shooting. Davis and Lansanah were reinstated last month.
Moore, who will be a senior next year, indicated in court that he will not be returning to UConn until January.
Mike Enright, UConn's sports information director, said the school was expected to issue a statement Monday.
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