Larry Bird's son reaches plea agreement on charges

BLOOMINGTON — Connor Bird, son of Pacers president and Indiana basketball legend Larry Bird, pled guilty to a misdemeanor criminal recklessness charge Wednesday. The plea is part of a deal that will see other charges stemming from a February 2013 altercation with an ex-girlfriend dropped.

Connor Bird, 22, was charged with battery, criminal recklessness and possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana after he was arrested when the ex-girlfriend reported that he had driven his car at her during an argument on the Indiana University campus.

The maximum penalty for a Class A misdemeanor charge is a year in prison and $5,000 fine. Connor Bird's sentencing, however, will be deferred for 12 months, provided he fulfills the requirements of the plea deal, which include the following:

• Committing no criminal offenses.

• Continued participation in a mentoring program.

• Providing proof of completion or discharge of counseling.

• Not using "illicit, mood altering or controlled substances, including alcohol."

• Not possessing any firearms or ammunition.

According to the plea deal, the state agrees to dismiss the battery and drug possession charges upon successful completion of the agreed-upon conditions.

Police said that Connor Bird and an ex-girlfriend got into a dispute at Bird's Bloomington apartment in February of 2013. Bird threw a cellphone at her, police said.

Later, police said, Bird waited at his ex-girlfriend's home and took her to a parking lot to talk things over. There, however, they got into another fight, police said, and the girl got out of Bird's car with the intent of walking back to her home.

Police said that Bird twice tried to hit the woman with his car. An IU student witnessed the incident, police said, and took the woman to the Indiana University Police Department.