The case of the non-360 Xbox bandits resumed on Thursday in Illinois, with the prosecution calling a witness from California and the defense putting Eagles cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu and his brother, Bill, on the stand.
Per the DeKalb (Ill.) Daily Chronicle, closing arguments in the trial will be held today.
It's unclear when a verdict will be entered, given that the case is proceeding before a judge and not a jury.
Safyian Baba, whose unavailability to travel caused the trial to shut down for more than a week, says that he discovered the two brothers in the townhouse he was renting as they allegedly were stealing an Xbox of the non-360 variety. Though the defense tried to undermine Baba's testimony, the gist of it meshed with the version of the events supplied by Jack and Bill Ikegwuonu.
Indeed, they admit that they entered the residence; they claim that they merely were looking for a party.
Specifically, they say that they were searching for Baba's former roommate at the residence, Michael Britton. But Britton testified last week that he had no plans to meet up with the two men.
Bill Ikegwuonu previously was acquitted by a jury. Jack Ikegwuonu unexpectedly waived his right to a jury trial, possibly hoping that the judge will factor Bill's acquittal into the ultimate disposition in Jack's case. A new jury probably would not have known about the outcome of Bill's case -- and that evidence probably would have been inadmissible in Jack's trial.
The stakes are fairly high for Jack Ikegwuonu, a fourth-round pick in 2008 who missed the entire year as he rehabbed a torn ACL. Indeed, he could miss another season or longer if convicted on the pending charges of residential burglary and criminal trespass.
Ikegwuonu testifies as his trial resumes
Posted by Mike Florio on July 17, 2009 7:21 AM ET
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I'm not understanding why a plea deal and restitution won't make this go away. They're spending thousands of dollars of tax payer money over a system that sells for $49.99 at gamestop.com.
If it's that important, I'll buy the dude two non-360 X-Boxi.
I understand you don't want people to run around robbing each other, but usually the DA would let you write a letter of apology, do 100 hours of community service, pay restitution and possibly 1-3 years of . What's so special about this case?
I don't want any smart ass answers, one or two good ones will suffice.
Residential burglary. Breaking and entering. Don't pay any attention to the Xbox, it gets mentioned because it was obviously out of place, unplugged and sitting in the middle of the floor. He's not charged with trying to steal an Xbox, he's charged with residential burglary and criminal trespass. That's what happens when you bust somebody's door down and try to steal stuff. Nobody's going to take that kind of risk just to steal an xbox. They were in there to steal what they could find, the xbox is obviously the first thing they found that was worth anything. The guy came home in the middle of it and they ran away.
x2 what Eddie said.
the worst part of all this? THEY DIDN'T EVEN STEAL THE XBOX.
the renter of the townhome said he saw them in his townhome and the xbox was "disconnected". so basically these guys broke in and took nothing.
i don't doubt their intentions were poor, but the fact is they didn't actually steal anything. and it was 3 years ago. and it was over a regular xbox. and the "plaintiff" can't even travel to the court.
why is this going to court? give him mandatory community service & save everyone's time. this is such a waste of everyone's time and money
did you read about what's going on here or not? Let me help u out. The 2 brothers enter a house of someone that they where only somewhat cool with without knocking, thought there was a party, then they thought no one was home and stole the xbox of some kid that didn't have a lot of money. After they were caught, then they said it was just a joke. If no one seen them take the xbox do you think they would hav given it back? I doubt it.