A University of Georgia student last week pleaded guilty to one count of commercial gambling in connection with his arrest last year for taking bets on campus for sporting events.
Brad Kirschner entered into a plea agreement with the Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney Office in which he is being allowed into a pretrial diversion program which, if successfully completed by the 22-year-old student, will result in the felony charge being dismissed, according to documents filed Friday in Clarke County Superior Court.
Kirschner was arrested in June 2015 following an investigation by UGA police into illegal gambling on campus.
He was charged along with another student, 23-year-old Max Richard Braun.
According to UGA police, warrants were obtained following an investigation that started in November 2014. Police at the time received information about a possible commercial gambling operation on campus, according to a UGA police report.
UGA spokesman Bob Taylor said the students allegedly were taking bets on sporting events, and their operation was based out of their off-campus apartment. Police considered the investigation closed with no additional arrests planned.
It was not until Friday that the prosecutors’ office filed a formal charging document, called an accusation, in Superior Court.
There is no record of an accusation being filed yet for Braun, who was additionally charged by UGA police with felony possession of cocaine.
Braun was listed on the UGA website as a finance major from North Carolina and Kirschner an economics major from Atlanta.
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