Bee Staff
A jail sentence for a San Jose State University football player who was convicted of battery was increased from 45 days to 60 days this week by a Placer County judge, according to a news release from the District Attorney's Office.
However, the player, Ryne Gonzalez of Loomis, will be allowed to attend school this fall and play football before he must report to the Placer County Jail for incarceration on Dec. 17, the release states.
Gonzalez, now 22, was found guilty by a jury last year of misdemeanor battery for a 2005 incident in Penryn in which he struck another man with his fist, breaking the victim's tooth, the release states.
Gonzalez, who plays linebacker for San Jose State, was ordered on July 7, 2008, by Placer County Superior Court Judge Joseph O'Flaherty to serve 45 days in jail - 30 in custody and 15 through alternative sentencing, which can include house arrest or monitoring.
The San Jose State student was given permission to do his jail time in the court's sentenced prisoner program, in which a person can serve in the Roseville Police Department's jail on a schedule that can work favorably around the person's job, family duties or schooling, the release states.
Prosecutor Jeffery Moore noted that Gonzales served only three days at the Roseville jail in January and just one day in April after the Police Department sent him a reminder that he needed to resume his jail time.
"But after serving the one day in April, he didn't return," Moore said.
Police notified the court about the situation and Judge O'Flaherty ordered Gonzalez to report to the Placer County Jail on Sept. 2 to serve all 45 days of his original sentence, the release states.
On Tuesday, Gonzalez' attorney, Robert Young of Auburn, filed a motion asking for a modified sentence so that his client would not lose his football scholarship. The Placer County District Attorney's Office opposed modifications, the release states.
In a hearing Wednesday, O'Flaherty allowed Gonzalez to return to school for the fall semester, but he imposed the increased jail sentence of 60 days to begin Dec. 17, and he placed other conditions on him, the release states.
If Gonzalez fails to show up for jail on the turn-in date or if he has any contact with the victim that he punched in 2005, he will be given an additional 90 days in jail, making it a 150-day sentence, the judge ruled.
Also, Gonzalez is no longer eligible for alternative sentencing, nor can he apply for the sentenced prisoner program in the Roseville jail. He will be given no credit for the four days he served in the Roseville jail earlier this year, the release states.
Prosecutor Moore said Gonzalez, whose football season began Saturday with a game against the University of Southern California, has been shirking his responsibilities.
"It seems as if he hasn't wanted to accept any responsibility," he said. "I want every defendant treated the same. I don't want there to be any appearance of favoritism for an athlete. I believe the victim in this case deserved justice right after the July 2008 sentencing - not at the defendant's convenience."
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