By David P. Greisman
Terence Crawford wasn’t in jail long – and his attorney is working to ensure that Crawford doesn't return.
The junior welterweight champion was released on Thursday at about 5 p.m. CT, after posting $10,000 bail, according to Omaha, Nebraska, television station KETV.
For his role in an incident at an Omaha auto body shop, Crawford had been sentenced earlier Thursday to 90 days in jail. He was expected to serve about 52½ days – the first 15 days in full and then half of the remaining 75 days, according to Alia Conley of the Omaha World-Herald.
That’s much more than what prosecutors sought and what seasoned crime reporters expected.
“Crawford had no previous criminal record beyond traffic citations,” according to one Omaha World-Herald article. “He obviously has gained a prominent place in his community. And prosecutors did not recommend jail time, only probation.”
Yet the judge came down hard on Crawford, according to the report, with one possible factor being that, “Crawford had been found not to be truthful during the presentence investigation.”
During sentencing Thursday morning, the judge told Crawford, “You’ve continued to act as if you are above the law, and you are not.”
His attorney now is working on an appeal.
“We’re appealing all of it – the verdict, the sentencing, everything,” he told the Omaha World-Herald. “I have been doing this a long time, and I was surprised by the outcome. I think everyone was surprised.”
The Omaha native was found guilty in September on one misdemeanor count of property damage and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. He was found not guilty of trespassing.
Crawford was accused of being part of a group that arrived at the body shop to retrieve his vehicle. The body shop owner, however, said that Crawford still owed money for the service. Crawford’s lawyer said at the time that there was a disagreement between the fighter and owner about the work that had been done and how much he was charged.
Crawford had been accused of going into the shop and lowering his vehicle off a hydraulic lift. According to a report, he damaged the machine in the process of retrieving his vehicle.
Crawford, 29, is 30-0 and has 21 KOs. He held the WBO world lightweight in 2014, before moving up to 140 pounds last year and capturing the WBO super lightweight championship.
He made two defenses before unifying titles – and restarting the championship lineage – by beating Ukraine’s Viktor Postol (28-1, 12 KOs), then the WBC super lightweight champion, by unanimous decision July 23 in Las Vegas. He is coming off an easy eighth-round technical knockout of John Molina Jr. (29-7, 23 KOs) on Saturday night in Omaha.
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
