Oklahoma

Student Athlete Implicated in Friend's Fatal Beating Gets 7 Years Deferred Adjudication

A former Dallas-area high school basketball player has been given 7 years of deferred adjudication, or probation, after a player from a rival school was beaten to death during a fight over a video game.

Former Madison High School basketball player Johnathan Tramaine Turner, now 20, was accused of beating Wilmer-Hutchins High School junior Troy Causey to death March 23, 2014.

Causey — who was set to sign a full basketball scholarship to Seminole State Collage in Oklahoma — died the following day.

Turner was originally charged with murder, but the district attorney reduced the charge to manslaughter. Turner took the plea deal Monday and will be on probation for the next seven years. If he gets into any more trouble, prosecutors said they will look to put him behind bars.

After the sentence was announced, Turner spoke to Causey's family and apologized for what took place. Causey's family said, essentially, that it was too little, too late.

Causey's mother, Tammy Simpson, was present at Monday's hearing and said she was unhappy with the reduction of charges and that Monday's action doesn't close the books on her son's case. Simpson said she plans to file a civil lawsuit where much more information will be shared about her son, Turner and the alleged recruiting scandal involving the Dallas Independent School District.

Despite attending different high schools, Turner and Causey lived together in Oak Cliff as part of the aforementioned scandal.

NBC 5's Josh Ault contributed to this report.

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