May 20--Prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor domestic-battery charge against Illinois basketball player Jaylon Tate on Thursday after the state attorney's office decided it did not have enough evidence to convict him.
Tate was arrested March 12 on suspicion of hitting a woman and pleaded not guilty.
He was indefinitely suspended from the basketball team and his status has not changed, according to a team spokesman.
"The case against Jaylon is being dropped for one reason, and that's because he's innocent and there is no evidence he committed this offense," Tate's attorney, Evan Bruno, told the Tribune. "It should have been dropped a long time ago."
Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz told the Associated Press that witnesses at a party with Tate and the alleged victim planned to testify that they did not see the two interact and saw her leave without injuries.
Bruno said Tate is "relieved" but worried about how the arrest will affect his reputation.
Tate, a junior guard from Chicago, is one of three Illinois basketball players arrested since February.
Sophomore forward Leron Black was placed on probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor aggravated assault. Black will be suspended for the first four games of the 2016-17 season.
Junior guard Kendrick Nunn, who graduated from Simeon with Tate, was sentenced to probation Wednesday after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery. He also remains indefinitely suspended from the team.
sryan@tribpub.com
