Former San Ysidro High School basketball star Mikey Williams, who pleaded guilty last November to a single count of making criminal threats in connection with a non-injury shooting outside his Jamul home earlier in the year, is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in connection to the case.
Williams is expected to appear at Dept. 102 in the San Diego Central Courthouse at 1:30 p.m.
NBC 7’s Steve Luke has more details.
The plea deal
“As part of the plea, he must attend cognitive behavioral therapy, gun safety and anger management classes,” Steve Walker, communications director with the DA’s office, told NBC 7 last fall. “He must complete 80 hours of community service as well.”
If Williams successfully completed all the conditions of the agreement and had no new violations, the charge was to be reduced to a misdemeanor, Walker told NBC 7.
As part of the plea deal, Williams was forbidden to possess a firearm, and, at his sentencing on Monday, a 10-year gun restriction will be placed on his record.
The star Memphis basketball recruit Mikey Williams faced multiple felony charges after the March 27, 2023, shooting. He had been free on a $50,000 bond since his arrest on April 13.
The shooting
An argument at Williams’ $1.2 million home in unincorporated Jamul in eastern San Diego County just before midnight that night ended with gunshots being fired at a car that was leaving the house with five passengers inside, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. Bullets hit the car, but nobody inside was injured, authorities said.
Williams had faced decades in prison if he had been convicted of all the charges.
Testimony at Williams’ preliminary hearing indicated there were six people in the car, including an Uber driver, and that Williams had made threats. That testimony led the prosecution to add an additional count of assault with a weapon and two counts of making threats.
A juvenile witness testified she and a group of friends took an Uber to Williams’ home so she could meet with JJ Taylor, who was living there and also has committed to play at Memphis. The girl said she went inside while the others waited in the car, but that Williams appeared angry and began to make threats.
Also at Williams’ preliminary hearing, Thompson-Taylor said that while no witnesses saw Williams fire a gun, there was probable cause to move the case forward based on testimony that witnesses saw him with a gun and heard him threaten to kill them. Modlin presented photos of bullet holes in a Tesla Model 3 that transported five people to Williams’ home.
College basketball career
Williams, whose college basketball career was delayed by gun charges, committed to the University of Central Florida in January 2024, just days after leaving the Memphis program. He had been enrolled in online classes at Memphis and was on the roster but didn’t have access to team facilities or activities while his legal case played out in a suburban San Diego courtroom.
The former star from San Diego’s San Ysidro High, who was one of the earliest stars of the name, image and likeness era, made the announcement via Instagram and one of his attorneys, Randy M. Grossman, confirmed the decision.
Williams was one of the name, image and likeness era’s earliest stars, securing a multiyear deal with shoe and athletic apparel maker Puma for an undisclosed amount in 2021. He had millions of followers across his social media platforms before apparently deactivating them. On3.com once estimated his NIL valuation at $3.6 million, but Williams’ name no longer appears in the rankings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report — Ed.
