After failing to complete the requirements of the Deferred Prosecution Unit’s First Offender Program mandated in a 2004 plea agreement, junior guard Maurice “Boo” Wade will again face charges of disorderly conduct and bail jumping stemming from a Feb. 3, 2004 incident in which Wade allegedly choked his girlfriend at her Langdon Street apartment.
Wade will not participate in the remainder of the men’s basketball season or attend classes at the University of Wisconsin this semester, the team announced Jan. 6.
Wade returned Dec. 22 from his previous eight-game leave of absence and remained with the team for a four-game span before leaving Wisconsin for good.
“We thought Boo could address some personal issues while continuing to play,” head coach Bo Ryan said in the team’s Jan. 6 release. “He has now decided that the best thing for him is to get away from school and basketball, and I support that decision completely.”
Wade’s permanent departure from the university came one day before his Deferred Prosecution counselor Nancy Gustaf sent a letter to Judge William Foust explaining that Wade had been removed from the First Offenders Program for failing to attend mandatory appointments.
“Mr. Wade failed to follow through with the assessment process for the Alternatives to Aggression program at Family Service,” Gustaf said in her letter to Judge Foust. “Family Service terminated Mr. Wade from the process for too many absences for appointments.”
Since Wade’s 2004 plea agreement required the completion of the Alternatives to Aggression program, his case will now be reopened. Wade will attend a sentencing hearing before Judge Foust March 8 at the Dane County Circuit Court. He will face a maximum penalty of nine months in jail and a fine of $10,000.
Wade was originally charged with misdemeanor battery after the February 2004 incident. He was subsequently charged with bail jumping after violating the terms of his bond, which prohibited him from contacting the victim or visiting the 600 block of Langdon Street.
The battery charge was later reduced to a charge of disorderly conduct, and both charges were dropped after Wade entered a plea of no contest and agreed to enter the First Offender Program. Wade signed a contract with the Deferred Prosecution program June 10, 2004 and was scheduled to complete the program June 10, 2005.
The plea agreement, which Wade signed April 15, 2004, stated, “If Wade successfully completes [the] program, then the case will be dismissed.”
According to the terms of the agreement, Wade would face no further penalties if he completed the First Offender Program. However, Wade failed to complete the program and will now face sentencing for both disorderly conduct and bail jumping charges.
In her letter to Judge Foust, Gustaf states that she met with Wade in October and warned him that his case would be reopened if he failed to complete the program. The meeting came two days after Wade announced his initial leave of absence from the team Oct. 25.
“I met with Mr. Wade on Oct. 27, 2004 and told him that he could be sent back to court for failure to follow through with his contract conditions,” Gustaf’s letter states. “Mr. Wade failed to follow through as he agreed. Therefore, we are sending Mr. Wade’s case back to court. He is no longer eligible to participate in our diversion program.”
Gustaf’s letter to Judge Foust also discussed two letters she sent to Wade regarding restitution and a Dec. 15 deadline that Wade did not meet.
“Mr. Wade failed to respond to a restitution letter sent by me, his Deferred Prosecution counselor, by the Dec. 15, 2004 deadline,” Gustaf said in her letter to Foust. “This was the second letter to Mr. Wade concerning the restitution. Mr. Wade failed to maintain regular contact with me.”
Wade was expected to be Wisconsin’s starting point guard heading into the season before he took his initial leave of absence. After sitting out of the first eight games of the year and the entire exhibition schedule during his initial leave of absence, Wade practiced with the team for a four-game stretch after his Dec. 22 return and played nine minutes against Western Carolina Dec. 27, his only action of the season. But on the eve of Gustaf’s letter to Foust that officially reopened Wade’s case, the Badger guard announced in a press release that he will leave the program permanently to focus on what was described as “personal issues.”
“I’d like to thank my teammates and coaches for their support, but I feel it is best for me to take a step back from school and basketball and work some things out,” Wade said in the release.
Wade averaged 5.0 points and 2.6 rebounds during his two-year career with the Badgers and was widely considered the team’s top perimeter defender. Wade leaves Wisconsin with an impressive 1.79 career assist-to-turnover ratio. He started 28 games last season and appeared in 62 games in his UW career.
Wade could not be reached for comment. Forwards Alando Tucker and Ray Nixon declined to discuss the events that led to Wade’s departure, and Coach Ryan refused to discuss the situation beyond his comments in the team’s press release.
