Ithiel Horton won't be playing for Pitt Saturday against Boston College, and maybe not for the rest of the season.
That's because the four criminal charges that were dismissed by a judge on Dec. 30, were re-filed by the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office. Those charges include aggravated assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, tied to an incident where Horton was alleged to have struck a police officer.
Those charges were originally dismissed because the arresting officer and the prosecution hadn't shown up prepared at either of the originally scheduled preliminary hearings for the incident on Nov. 16 or Dec. 30. However that did not preclude the charges from being reintroduced, as was a possibility explained earlier this week. The charges were apparently re-filed Dec. 31, but weren't announced or added to Horton's docket until Saturday, Jan. 8.
Per university policy, Horton would have to back to not being allowed to compete with the team, effective immediately. Pitt Athletics released an official statement Saturday afternoon.
"The University of Pittsburgh was notified that charges had been re-filed from the incident in early November and is adhering to athletic department policies," the statement read. "The case had been resolved when all charges were dismissed on Dec. 30. However, with the charges being re-filed Ithiel will not compete until the matter is resolved. We will continue to support Ithiel during this trying time and look forward to an appropriate resolution."
In Horton's lone performance of the season, he scored 13 points and led the team from beyond the arc, making 3 of 5 three-point shots to go along with four rebounds, an assist and a steal. At this time, there is no preliminary hearing date scheduled, which will further prolong Horton's suspension.
