UW-Madison sophomore men's basketball guard Maurice \Boo"" Wade pled not guilty to misdemeanor battery charges yesterday. Wade did not attend the hearing before Court Commissioner Todd Meurer and his attorney, Stephen Hurley, entered the plea on his behalf.
Wade was arrested on Feb. 5 on the tentative charge of felony battery for allegedly choking an ex-girlfriend the day before. He was formally charged for misdemeanor battery on Wednesday, a lesser charge. If found guilty, Wade faces a maximum jail sentence of nine months.
After his arrest, Wade was suspended indefinitely and did not play in the Badgers' victory over Minnesota or their defeat at Northwestern. Wade appealed the suspension, and it was modified from indefinite to the two games he missed. Wade returned to the court for Wednesday's victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Wade did not start the game, but played for 25 minutes and was 2-6, scoring 4 points.
In addition to entering the not guilty plea, Wade's attorney waived a pre-trial hearing and the case will be set for trial before Judge Diane Nicks. Meurer also ordered Wade to have no contact with the alleged victim and to avoid the 600 block of Langdon, where the alleged incident took place.
