Former Tustin Player Pleads Guilty to Assault Charges

Former Tustin High basketball player DeAngelo Collins pleaded guilty last week to felony assault charges against a former teammate and faces up to seven years in juvenile prison.

Collins, 16, could be sentenced to a maximum of seven years in the California Youth Authority. His sentencing was set for Jan. 27.

The 6-foot-9 Collins, who played at Tustin as a freshman last season, transferred in the spring to Inglewood High, where he is on the basketball team. Despite his conviction, he remains eligible to play, according to Southern Section rules. Had he been suspended at Tustin High, the section could have declared him ineligible.

Collins’ plea came during his trial in Orange County Juvenile court. He admitted to punching a classmate at a morning workout in the Tustin gym on March 27. The student sustained a fractured cheekbone and nose, facial lacerations and inner ear damage, according to court records.

Collins was arrested at the scene. It was not the first time he had been in trouble. He served 60 days in a juvenile detention center in 1997 after he was convicted on misdemeanor assault charges with a deadly weapon against a woman in Stockton.

Collins was suspended from the Tiller team several times for violating team rules and was finally asked to leave the team on March. 24.