Indiana Freshman Mackenzie Mgbako Trespass Case Resolved
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana freshman Mackenzie Mgbako’s criminal trespass charge stemming from an incident last month at a Bloomington Taco Bell will be dropped if he stays out of trouble for the next six months, according to Monroe County court documents.
A pretrial diversion program agreement signed by Mgbako and filed in the case last week requires him to avoid any new criminal charges for 180 days and to pay court costs and fees of $334. Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff signed the order for the conditional dismissal of the case on Nov. 2.
Mgbako already has paid the court costs and fees, and a pretrial conference scheduled for Dec. 4 has been canceled. Mgbako is not obligated to do any community service, programs or classes. The conditional dismissal of the Class B misdemeanor charge would become final on April 29, 2024.
Mgbako’s lawyer, Joseph Lozano of Bloomington, declined to comment Wednesday.
According to Bloomington police, officers who responded to Taco Bell at approximately 2:15 a.m. on Oct. 22 were told Mgbako was rude and cursing to workers as he was in the drive-through lane and would not leave after he was refused service. The report states officers told Mgbako to leave for 15 minutes and he did not, which resulted in the trespass charge.
Indiana coach Mike Woodson has commented on the situation once, saying on Oct. 27, “He will be playing. He's been practicing, and all that's behind us. We've got to move forward.”
Indiana began the 2023-24 regular season on Tuesday against Florida Gulf Coast. Mgbako started the game and scored four points on 2-for-6 shooting, along with three rebounds, one block, one steal and one assist in 19 minutes. He also started the Hoosiers’ two exhibition games, scoring 14 points against Indianapolis and 15 points against Marian.
Mgbako, a 6-foot-8 forward, joined the Hoosiers this summer as a five-star recruit out of Roselle Catholic High School in New Jersey. He was originally committed to Duke, but reopened his recruitment in the spring, then picked Indiana over Kansas. Mgbako was ranked the No. 10 player in the nation for the class of 2024, making him the second-highest ranked recruit in Indiana program history since 2000, behind Romeo Langford.
"He's wired to score," Indiana senior point guard Xavier Johnson said of Mgbako. "He's a great scorer. He's a great shooter, and I really think he'll help us in that area because that's one area that we have struggled in the last couple years."
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