A bench trial started Monday for Eagles cornerback Jack Ikegwounu, who is accused of criminal trespass and burglarly stemming from a late-2006 incident in Illinois.
Ikegwuonu's twin brother faced similar charges and was found innocent by a jury. Jack is waiving his right to a jury trial and putting his fate in the hands of Judge Kurt Klein, who will decide whether Ikegwuonu is guilty or innocent.
“It is the defendant’s choice whether to waive a jury trial,” prosecutor Julie Trevarthen said. “He is entitled to make that decision, and he decided this morning.”
Supposedly, Jack and his brother were seen on the lower level of a townhouse rented by Safyian Baba, possibly holding an XBox console. The Ikegwuonu brothers allegedly then ran from the home. The XBox system was still on the floor.
“As I remember correctly, the Xbox game system was misplaced,” Michael Britton, Baba's roommate at the time, testified. “I can’t recall the exact location, but it was disconnected … It was unplugged from the outlet on the wall and from the TV.”
A police officer said that Jack and his brother were questioned four separate times following the incident and they gave four different stories. That's not so good.
The defense argues that Jack and his brother went to the townhouse in the first place because they thought there was a party there. Britton says that they weren't invited and there wasn't a party there anyway.
Stay tuned.
