Murray State’s Zay Jackson sentenced to 60 days in jail over Walmart altercation

The charges stem from an incident where Jackson hit Jason Clement with his car after a verbal altercation in a Walmart parking lot on Sept. 10. The whole situation was captured by on video, and Murray State subsequently suspended the sophomore guard for the season.

What seemed to be a pretty routine trial ended up dragging on for quite some time. Jackson originally pled guilty to charges of wanton endangerment in October, but a new judge in his case threw out the original deal and called for a one-year sentence. Under his original plea, Jackson would receive a 30-day sentence which could be served on weekends. The original judge in Jackson’s case recused himself from the trial after admitting close ties with the university.

Jackson withdrew his guilty plea following the harsher settlement, and a grand jury indicted Jackson on Dec. 6 with charges of second-degree assault and first-degree wanton endangerment.

Jackson was sentenced to five years on both counts, with the sentences running concurrently. His plea agreement calls for 60 days in jail and three years of probation afterwards. Jackson has already spent 11 days in jail up to this point and starts the remaining 49 on Monday. He reportedly will also pay for Clement’s medical bills and attend counseling.

Jackson averaged 4.9 points in 18.9 minutes for the Racers last season, but hasn’t played a game this year due to the suspension. Jackson’s status with the team remains up in the air, but he has reportedly sat on the bench and been practicing with the team throughout the whole ordeal.