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Knox County Sessions Court Judge Chuck Cerny showed mercy to Tennessee defensive tackle Alexis Johnson on Thursday.
The judge agreed to a deal that reduced his felony domestic assault charge to a misdemeanor, while also dropping his charge of felony imprisonment, according to reports from the Knoxville News-Sentinel’s Dustin Dopirak and WBIR.com in Knoxville.
The Class of 2016 signee, who is currently suspended, initially received the charges after an incident in which a girl he dated on two separate occasions accused him of choking her on Valentine’s Day.
However, Johnson’s attorney Gregory P. Isaacs told WBIR that the deal stands only if his client stays out of trouble for the next six months, and he’ll have to revisit Cerny on Oct. 10.
Last month, the 6-foot-4, 295-pound four-star prospect from Jonesboro, Ga., pleaded not guilty to the two charges. He didn’t participate in spring practice.
The defendant in this case is also a plaintiff in the ongoing federal lawsuit against Tennessee that points a finger at the program for enabling sexual assaults by student-athletes at the university.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
