Forget about getting his football career back on track; the life of a touted 2015 quarterback prospect is hurtling straight toward years and years worth of incarceration.
Detroit Cass Tech (Mich.) High School’s Jayru Campbell is -- or at least was -- given a four-star rating by Rivals.com, rated as the No. 9 dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2015. He had been a Michigan State verbal before, ahem, “decommitting” from the Spartans back in June.
Late last week, the 17-year-old Campbell was arrested and charged after allegedly assaulting his 17-year-old girlfriend at Cass Tech. Campbell has officially been charged with unarmed robbery, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and misdemeanor domestic violence assault and battery.
Those charges came hours -- literally -- after Campbell had been released from jail after serving a 60-day sentence connected to an earlier assault on a school security officer. This latest assault will result in a probation violation, which in and of itself could trigger significant jail time for the troubled teen. And that doesn’t even take into account the potential sentences for his latest charges: assault to do great bodily harm, a felony that could lead to up to 10 years in jail; unarmed robbery, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in jail; and domestic violence, a misdemeanor worth up to 93 days in jail.
As for the details of what led to those potentially serious charges, this from the Detroit News HERE and HERE pretty much sums it up:He reportedly grabbed his girlfriend’s phone, saw whom she was texting when he was in jail, went into a rage and began choking her.
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According to the prosecutor’s office, “during school hours it is alleged that Campbell was at Cass Tech when he assaulted his girlfriend in front of other students over a dispute over a phone.”
Again, that alleged assault came just 3-4 hours after he had been released from jail at noon for an earlier assault.
Campbell missed the start of the 2014 season, his senior year, because he was in jail serving 47 of the 60 days to which he was sentenced. This latest incident all but assures his high school career is over, although that’s not the least bit surprising given the player’s propensity for violence.
In late May, Campbell was sentenced to, among other things, 60 days in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor aggravated assault. The quarterback had originally been charged with felony assault with intent to do great bodily harm after he body slammed a school security guard who had the audacity to tell him to remove a hood; that charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors.
The school security guard incident wasn’t the first instance of violence involving Campbell, however.
Last November, Campbell was again (somewhat) caught on video, this time punching a Detroit Catholic Central player in the handshake line following a Cass Tech playoff loss. The Detroit News reported Campbell was suspended for 3-5 days by the school immediately following that incident. He was also suspended for the 2014 season opener, a suspension he served while behind bars.
In the video below, you don’t see the actual punch that was acknowledged by the player’s own coach, but you do see the aftermath — including, ironically enough, Campbell being put to the ground by another man:
“I’m not a thug,” Campbell said during a June TV interview, prior to serving his jail term. “I would not consider myself as a criminal. I would consider myself as a natural-born leader and someone that likes to help others. ...
“I just learned that violence is not the answer. There’s different ways that you can solve a problem. ... Learn to forgive. It took some time but I would say I definitely got to the point where I’m thinking before I react.”
What’s the old axiom, actions speak louder than words? Yeah, that pretty much sums up this whole sordid situation.
(Photo credit: Rivals.com)