One of two former Ball State University football players arrested for stealing laptop computers awaits a sentencing hearing on March 22, according to Delaware County Circuit Court 1 officials.
Eulas Taylor III pled guilty to two counts of burglary on Monday, court officials said.
Taylor made a plea bargain to reduce his conviction from a Class B to a Class C felony, Diane Frye, Delaware County deputy prosecutor, said. Reducing the conviction reduces Taylor's sentence, she said.
"Why would you go in and plead straight up to a charge if you didn't get something out of it?" Frye said.
Taylor faces between two and eight years for each of his two Class C felonies, which could be as much as 16 years, according to Indiana Code. The advisory sentence for each charge is four years. If he had been convicted of a Class B felony, his sentence would have been six to 20 years for each charge, or up to 40 years in prison.
Before the sentencing hearing, a probation officer will conduct a pre-sentence investigation examining elements such as Taylor's background and history, Frye said. The officer will provide the investigation results to the judge, who will then decide whether Taylor will go to prison or receive a suspended sentence, she said.
Brandon Houston pled not guilty to two charges of burglary, a class B felony, and two charges of possession of stolen goods, a class D felony, on Monday, Frye said.
His final pre-trial conference is May 24. A trial-by-jury before judge Marianne Vorhees is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 25 at Delaware County Circuit Court 1.
Taylor and Houston were both arrested Oct. 13 under suspicion of stealing laptop computers from Woody and Shales residence halls, according to police reports.
After a resident reported her and her roommate's laptops missing about 2 a.m., a fire alarm went off, forcing residents to evacuate. During the evacuation, residence hall staff noticed Houston exit the building empty-handed but later saw him holding a bag, according to reports.
After the alarm was reset, another resident flagged down an officer and reported a another missing laptop, according to reports. An officer later found the missing laptops in nearby bushes.
Houston was apprehended while trying to flag down a vehicle but police were unsure if it was a get-away car, according to reports. Taylor was caught several hours later in his room.
Taylor and Houston are no longer Ball State students, but it is uncertain whether they left voluntarily or not, Layne Cameron, Ball State media relations manager, said. They were both immediately removed from the football team after the incident.
During his plea, Taylor informed the court he intended to start school in Georgia on April 1 but would try to transfer back to Ball State later, Frye said.
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