ISU’s Hawkins faces additional charges after traffic stop

Posted on February 3, 2017

Deontae Hawkins was cited by Normal Police on two traffic offenses last week.(Photo courtesy GoRedbirds.com)

By Eric Stock

NORMAL – Despite two new traffic offenses on an Illinois State University basketball player’s record, his status with the team won’t change.

Normal Police cited Deontae Hawkins, 23, on Jan. 24 for allegedly driving on a suspended license and driving without insurance. He was given a notice to appear in McLean County court on Feb. 28.

Hawkins is awaiting a pre-trial hearing on March 2 stemming from an October arrest in which the Dayton, Ohio native was charged with driving under the influence and other traffic offenses.

ISU men’s basketball coach Dan Muller suspended Hawkins in October shortly after that arrest, citing a violation of team rules. Hawkins was reinstated by the start of the season and is currently the leading scorer on a team which has a 19-4 record heading into Saturday’s game at Wichita State.

Two other ISU basketball players have had run-ins with the law earlier in the season. D.J. Clayton and Milik Yarbrough were arrested on misdemeanor theft charges in connection with a stolen iPhone. Clayton pleaded guilty on Monday to the misdemeanor. He was sentenced to two years of court supervision and ordered to perform 60 hours of community service. Yarbrough’s case has not yet gone to trial.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

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