Former Auburn defensive back Mike McNeil pled guilty Monday to first-degree robbery charges. McNeil had previously maintained his innocence and even turned down pleas deal offered by prosecutors. Now he has been given a 15-year split sentence, which stipulates that he must serve at least three years in prison and also will be under supervised probation for three years.
Former Auburn player Mike McNeil pleads guilty, sentenced to 3 years
After originally pleading not guilty, McNeil changed his tune Monday, and now he’s headed to jail.
Kevin C. Cox
McNeil was a focal point of Selena Roberts’ story on the Auburn football program, which has grown increasingly controversial in the days since it was published. Roberts’ story framed McNeil as a possible victim of internal school politics; McNeil is quoted as saying he felt like he was being made a scapegoat.
A guilty plea isn’t necessary an admission of having committed a crime, as McNeil appears to indicate his legal defense accepted the best deal it could:
“I was informed what they are trying to say is the truth, but I am not saying it is,” McNeil said.
McNeil and other Auburn football players were accused of entering a residence and robbing some students at gunpoint in March of 2011.
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