CORAOPOLIS, Pa. (AP) -New Mexico State freshman Herb Pope has waived his right to a preliminary hearing on a drunken driving charge filed by police who say they found Pope passed out in a running car on a western Pennsylvania street.
The decision to waive Tuesday’s hearing means Pope will be scheduled to stand trial in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court for the Dec. 28 incident in Moon Township, a Pittsburgh suburb.
The 18-year-old Pope was heralded as “the highest profile student athlete to ever sign with Aggie hoops,” according to his biography on the school’s Web site. He had been academically ineligible at New Mexico State before a New Mexico judge ordered an end to the NCAA ban. The 6-foot-8 Pope has yet to play for the Aggies.
One of the nation’s top recruits last season, he chose New Mexico State over Cincinnati, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh and Texas.
Defense attorney Arnie Klein said he doesn’t know whether the drunken driving case will affect Pope’s playing status.
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