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NFL: Brother's objection halts Ikegwuonu plea deal

Adam Mertz  —  4/29/2008 1:56 pm

A plea settlement involving Jack Ikegwuonu fell through at the last minute on Friday when it was rejected by his brother, leaving the former University of Wisconsin cornerback facing a potential July 14 trial in Illinois.

"It was supposed to happen Friday and it did not," said Stephanie Klein, the assistant state's attorney in DeKalb., Ill., who is prosecuting the case.

Ikegwuonu -- who was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the NFL draft on Sunday -- has been charged with residential burglary, a felony, and criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, related to an incident in November 2006.

He and his twin brother, Bill, were accused of breaking into an apartment in DeKalb, Ill. -- where Bill was attending school at Northern Illinois -- and attempting to steal an Xbox game system.

Klein confirmed Tuesday that the deal fell through when it was rejected by Bill Ikegwuonu and his attorney, as had been first reported by WKOW-TV in Madison.

Neither Klein nor Frank Martinez, who is representing Bill, would divulge the specifics of the deal or its demise.

"All I can say is that my client and I decided it wasn't in his best interests to enter into that agreement at that time," said Martinez, of Morrison, Ill.

Although the brothers -- both former Madison Memorial students -- are facing the same charges, their fates are not intertwined. So it is possible that different deals were pitched to each of them.

According to a report on profootballtalk.com late last week, Jack Ikegwuonu was prepared to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge, be subject to 24 months of probation and perform 50 hours of community service in exchange for the felony charge being dropped.

Each of the involved parties -- including Debra Schaefer, Jack Ikegwuonu's Rockford-based attorney -- pledged to continue conversations about a new plea deal, but are prepared to go to trial if need be.

"We always try to keep an open mind," Martinez said. "But if the parties can't come to an agreement, the parties will come to a trial. We're just following proper procedure, really."

Ikegwuonu sustained a serious knee injury shortly after deciding to forgo his final season at Wisconsin to enter the NFL draft. He told Philadelphia reporters on Sunday that he does not expect to play this season.

Eagles coach Andy Reid said the team will stand by Ikegwuonu.

"I didn't only trust what he said: we obviously did a little investigation into it ourselves," Reid told reporters Sunday. "We just have to let the court go through its sentencing phase and then we'll see."

Adam Mertz  —  4/29/2008 1:56 pm