Oregon Defensive Backs DJ James and Jamal Hill Charged in Municipal Court
Oregon defensive backs DJ James and Jamal Hill have been charged in municipal court Tuesday for multiple offenses after an airsoft shooting incident on Aug. 3, just prior to the team's fall camp.
A trial date has been scheduled for Sept. 8, according to City of Eugene court records.
Hill and James have each been charged with two counts of reckless endangering, two counts of disorderly conduct, and one charge of unlawful discharge of a firearm. The former two counts are misdemeanors, while the latter charge is a city ordinance violation, which equals a $140 fine.
The two Ducks defensive backs were suspended indefinitely as a result, and they have not appeared at practice since the incident.
Eugene Police were dispatched late on Aug. 3 to a report of a man who had been shot in the face with a "realistic-looking" airsoft gun at 14th Avenue and Willamette Street by someone in a sedan driving past him. Two others reported similar incidents within a similar timeframe, and one person on a scooter reported that they were nearly hit by the sedan.
The sedan was found close to the incident and the men were contacted. Hill and James were each cited with three counts of reckless endangering, assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and disorderly conduct.
The news is significant for the football program as the defensive backs were projected to be starters this season, especially with the departure of Deommodore Lenoir and Nick Pickett. Mykael Wright will be CB1 for the Ducks in 2021, while Dontae Manning and Trikweze Bridges will duke it out for the other starting spot.
Verone McKinley III will start at free safety, and Steve Stephens IV has been running with the first-team defense in fall camp. Bennett Williams will likely take over the nickel spot that would have been occupied by Hill.
A plethora of young defensive backs fills out the rest of the secondary, a unit that will have to produce early against the prolific passing attacks of Fresno State and Ohio State in the first two weeks of the season.
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