One week after being formally charged for participating in a theft ring that stole 104 laptop computers from Detroit Public Schools, Michigan State football player Dion Sims pleaded guilty to receiving and concealing stolen property.
As reported by the Detroit News, the felony charge carries a five-year sentence, but Sims has agreed to cooperate with investigators and provide testimony against the others who conspired to steal the laptops.
The judge presiding over the case will take Sims’s cooperation into consideration, and could rule to keep the conviction off Sims’s record if he successfully completes terms of probation. That probation will likely include asking Sims to pay restitution in an amount to be determined by prosecutors.
Sims remains suspended from the Michigan State football team, and his lawyer said that it’s unlikely he’ll be permitted to return this season. He could be allowed to rejoin the team next season, however.