If Titus Young had proved as elusive on the football field as he has in a Newport Beach courtroom, he might still be in the NFL.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Andre Manssourian on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for the former Detroit Lion wide receiver, who has missed four court hearings tied to allegations against him of burglary and assault on a police officer.
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Titus Young, Troubled Ex-NFL Wideout, Misses Court Hearing But Judge Shows Mercy
Titus Young, Former Detroit Lions Receiver, Probably Sets NFL Record By Being Arrested Thrice in a Week
The judge had previously cut Young some slack, after the troubled 23-year-old's defense attorney informed his client was in treatment. But Manssourian, who had told Young's lawyer Altus Hudson he expected the defendant to appear in court next time, followed through by issuing an arrest warrant from the bench.
Young was drafted in the second round by the Lions in 2011 but was cut by the team in February. The St. Louis Rams claimed him off waivers but dropped him about 10 days later.
He was arrested twice on May 5 in Moreno Valley, first in the early morning hours on suspicion of driving under the influence and then that afternoon for allegedly jumping the fence of an impound lot to find his vehicle.
Just before midnight on May 11, Orange County sheriff's deputies responding to a residential burglary call in San Clemente found Young outside the home, and the confrontation allegedly devolved into a wrestling match between the athlete and the cops. Young was taken into custody after a foot chase and second struggle with deputies, according to the sheriff's department.
He is charged in OC with first-degree burglary, attempted first-degree burglary of an inhabited dwelling and second-degree burglary, which are all felonies, and two counts of assault on a peace officer, two counts of battery on a peace officer, two counts of resisting arrest and vandalism with less than $400 in damages, which are misdemeanors.
Young pleaded not guilty at his May 24 arraignment–he claims he was inside the house in question but was looking for his cousin–and he posted $50,000 bail and was released from Orange County Jail on June 10.
His father says the football player suffered some kind of mental breakdown caused by a concussion on the gridiron as a rookie. A CBS Sports reporter was told by an unnamed teammate that he recalled Young coming off the field after being hit wobbly, not making sense and “out of it.” The player added the Lions' coaches and medical staff were not informed about this as teammates believed Young would snap out of it.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.