Three former Cyclones plead guilty to underage gambling charges

Three former Cyclone football players have agreed to plea deals following court proceedings related to the state’s investigation into sports gambling on Wednesday.

Hunter Dekkers, Dodge Sauser and Jake Remsburg each agreed to underage gambling charges that — similar to a speeding ticket — yield just $645 in fines in total.

The trio is under the same representation, and each player was initially charged with tampering with records, but the charge was dropped and no legal penalties remain outside of the $645 fine for each player.

Others included in the investigation have not yet received news on their legal penalties, including Jirehl Brock, Isaiah Lee, DeShawn Hanika and Enyi Uwazurike.

Hanika and Remsburg still hope to retain an amount of NCAA eligibility, and it’s expected that Remsburg will be allowed to rejoin the team on the field beginning with Iowa State’s seventh game of the season, against Cincinnati, on the road.

The full statement from Attorney Mark Weinhardt can be read below:

Today, Hunter Dekkers, Jake Remsburg, and Dodge Sauser are each
resolving the criminal cases brought against them by the Story County
Attorney. For each student, the State is replacing the original charge of
Tampering With Records with a charge of Underage Gambling. Each of the
students is entering a plea of guilty to the Underage Gambling ticket and
receiving a $645 fine. The County Attorney’s Office agreed in each case that
this is the end of the criminal proceedings against our clients.

The Underage Gambling ticket is a vastly reduced charge compared to
the original Tampering With Records allegation. Tampering With Records is
an aggravated misdemeanor that carries a maximum two-year prison term. By
contrast, the only possible penalty for Underage Gambling is a $645 fine—
what we expect the court to imposed promptly.

The original records tampering charge against these young men never
fit this case, either legally or factually. Hunter, Jake, and Dodge are not and
never were guilty of that charge. The charge has nothing to do with gambling.
Other than the fact that Hunter, Jake, and Dodge placed some bets
before they turned 21, nothing about those bets was a crime under Iowa law.

These three young men have very bright futures. We are happy that this
outcome frees Hunter, Jake, and Dodge to focus on the educational and
eligibility aspects of this matter. They plan to pursue the sport that they love
and the careers they envision for themselves.

MARK WEINHARDT