Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard could be sentenced to up to six years in prison after he was convicted today of third-degree assault on a police officer, a felony.
A jury in Nebraska began deliberating on Tuesday afternoon and announced its verdict this morning, Lori Pilger of the Lincoln Journal Star reports. In addition to the felony assault charge, Dennard was convicted on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. He was acquitted on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting another man.
The charges stemmed from an incident outside a Lincoln bar just before last year’s NFL draft, when Dennard was accused of punching a cop in the jaw. Dennard had been considered a top cornerback prospect heading into the draft, but he slipped to the seventh round after his arrest. He ended up starting seven regular-season games and both postseason games for the Patriots.
Now it appears that Dennard will be out of action for quite some time. In addition to the potential prison for a lengthy prison sentence, Dennard will almost certainly be suspended by the NFL.
Sentencing is set for April 11.