Former Razorbacks football standout Marquel Wade was incarcerated Wednesday into a state facility as part of his sentencing for residential burglary of dorm rooms last year.
Wade and fellow former teammate Andrew Peterson were sentenced in October to six months in the Arkansas Department of Community Correction and also were given 60 months supervised probation. The probation period includes six months each in the state Department of Community Correction facility.
Peterson’s incarceration began Dec. 31.
As part of their plea bargain agreement, Peterson and Wade each pleaded guilty to one count of residential burglary, a Class B felony. Their felony records can be expunged if they serve their sentences without incident, the judge said.
Former Arkansas football player Maudrecus Humphrey, Wade and Peterson were arrested last May on suspicion of residential burglary in dorm rooms.
Officers initially responded to a burglary complaint on May 1 regarding a laptop that had been stolen from a campus dorm room, the report states. Over the next week, 10 additional stolen property complaints were filed. Those complaints included reports of stolen textbooks, laptops, cash and DVD’s.
Surveillance video showed three suspects walking through the hallways, checking doors and entering rooms. The suspects later were identified as Wade, Humphrey and Peterson, the report states.
On May 9, a clerk at the campus bookstore on Dickson Street also identified the three as having been in the bookstore multiple times selling textbooks. Textbooks and other stolen property were recovered from Peterson’s dorm, according to the report.
Storey praised the legal representation Wade and Peterson received and told the two former players each could have been sentenced to 60 years in prison.
“I hope you know how fortunate you are,” the judge said, speaking of their sentences.
Fayetteville lawyer Chad L. Atwell represented Wade, while Peterson was represented by lawyer Renae Hudson.
Wide receivers Wade and Humphrey, and tight end Peterson, appeared in June at an arraignment in the Washington County Detention Center with their attorneys and pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges. A not guilty plea is standard at arraignments, allowing a case to proceed to court.
Each was charged with three counts of residential burglary, a Class B felony punishable by five to 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction and a fine of up to $15,000. Each also was charged with one count of theft of property, a Class B felony punishable by up to six years in the Department of Correction.
