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The University of Utah announced today that senior wide receiver Cory Butler-Byrd has been partially reinstated by head coach Kyle Whittingham effective immediately. What does partially reinstated mean? Well, he is allowed to participate in team activities and practice, but he has not been cleared to return to games.
KW hopes CBB could turn out like Hatfield: “That would be the ideal outcome: to see him turn it around also and end up on a positive note.”
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) August 23, 2016
Butler-Byrd was suspended indefinitely for misdemeanor criminal mischief charges stemming from an incident where he vandalized a police station and car. This news comes one day after Butler-Byrd announced a guilty plea in abeyance, per Kyle Goon of the Salt Lake Tribune. Below is the official definition of a guilty plea in abeyance from the Utah code:
77-2a-1 Definitions
For the purposes of this chapter:
(1) “Plea in abeyance” means an order by a court, upon motion of the prosecution and the defendant, accepting a plea of guilty or of no contest from the defendant but not, at that time, entering judgment of conviction against him nor imposing sentence upon him on condition that he comply with specific conditions as set forth in a plea in abeyance agreement. (2) “Plea in abeyance agreement” means an agreement entered into between the prosecution and the defendant setting forth the specific terms and conditions upon which, following acceptance of the agreement by the court, a plea may be held in abeyance.
According to Goon, Butler-Byrd will have his charges dismissed if he pays restitution of $1,691.50 for the damage he caused, does not have any other criminal offenses in the next year, and obtains mental health counseling. Butler-Byrd would face a prison sentence of up to one year if he fails to meet the terms of his plea deal.